Sweethollow gullet

The only easy way in is through a single road from the West and it's a living Candyland for the first third of the zone. The players do not know it is a horrifying zone where almost everything is a Lurkling disguised as candy canetrees, lollipop flowers, candy or chocolate bushes, caramel apple flowers, river of frosting or chocolate etc. These are the fledgling mimics, previously devoured children that were digested and aided the reproduction of new mimics. There is a Prime Lurkling (The Evermaw) from which all mimics come from, and it is at the dead center of the zone. As you go further into this bright, yummy, enticing zone it transitions slowly, turning stark, haunted, terrifying, imposing. Everything is meant to scare you back to the Candyland (name work in progress).

Geography

Transition Zone:

• The forest becomes dense, with candy-like elements replaced by malformed, fleshy imitations of natural growths. Lollipop flowers ooze a red, blood-like substance.
• Vines strung with discarded belongings—a doll’s head, a torn boot—serve as grim reminders of those who came before.

Localized Phenomena

Ambience:

• The air is thick with the scent of sugar and syrup, but it’s sickeningly sweet, like something rotting beneath the surface.
• As players venture deeper, they notice subtle inconsistencies—melting candy with sinewy textures underneath, chocolate-covered rocks with unnaturally sharp edges, or a caramel apple leaking something black and viscous.
• Background sounds start as cheerful (birds chirping, a faint melody) but distort into unsettling giggles or whispers.