Baby's Day Out

When in town, the party overhears a crying woman pleading with a shopkeeper for more oatmeal. The shopkeeper refuses, as she already spent her last gold piece on oatmeal an hour ago. Upon approaching her, the party learns that her baby was stolen by a Quickling, and replaced by a foul wooden doll that enacts violent chaos if it is not constantly being fed oatmeal.

Plot points/Scenes

-Party comes across crying woman begging a shopkeeper for more oatmeal. Shopkeeper says unless she can pay, he won't give it to her. She continues begging, saying that it's the only way to get her child back. Shopkeeper says he knows better than to get involved in Faerie affairs, and it's none of his business.
-Assuming party approaches her, woman identifies herself as Molly, and tells them that a Quickling stole her baby (Bryn) and replaced him with a marionette that gets violent when not fed oatmeal. This happened several days ago (due to lack of sleep, she is unsure how many). The marionette has already broken the arm of the six year old girl next door. She and her husband have been unable to try and find Bryn, due to the need to constantly feed the marionette.
-Molly takes them to her house, and gives them a lock of Bryn's hair. She heard that a cleric in Skullbridge has devised a way of locating lost children via locks of their hair, toenails, etc. (Changeling-style child theft is not uncommon)
-Party goes to the Skullbridge temple. They find out that once a year (for the last fifty years), a child goes missing, each with a similar trick played. The lock of hair points West, towards the Onnen Tree. An adventuring party left to go there two weeks ago, and never returned. If asked about the Onnen Tree, the cleric says that it used to be a place of nature worship, sacred to the druids and nature fae. Then, fifty years ago, It began to die. Now it's magic is corrupted, and the tree is a dead husk.
-Party goes to Onnen Tree
-At the end of the dungeon, they find a Green Hag (use Coven Variant stats) that has been sacrificing babies once a year for fifty years, in a long ritual to make the Onnen Tree in to a Gulthias Tree. They find out that she has been doing this under orders of He Who Walks in Shadow. She says he whispers to her in the night. After defeating the Hag, the Onnen Tree begins to show signs of life again.
-Party levels up

Plot type

Quest

Related Locations

• Oakspire
• The Onnen Tree