Lonely Cottage
Seventhday, Secondden, the Harvest Moon, 748 AC, Malpighien Steppes
The characters will find themselves following the tracks, more or less along the Dun River, for most of the day. While they will cross the back end of a dozen farms and ranches, they encounter no one other than the tracks of a few sheep and single, bent-backed rancher
Tristan, as the rancher introduces himself, is a weathered old ranch hand who has been tending sheep along the river for the past forty years. When questioned, he won't know anything about Borat but does indeed have tales of missing livestock. Something has started hunting in the region and its unnatural. At least three of his sheep have been snatched in the past moon. And the bloody Benidrene's have done nothing about it! Its a crying shame - with his wife run off and his children all grown and gone - service in the Zennonaize Cavalry for three of them and the fourth run off the city with some fool glaizer's apprentice - his sheep are all he has. And you can't shear a sheep that's not here, now, can you! Rumor has it that the creature has even taken people - three have gone missing. A child from a nearby farm swears that his sister vanished into an old cottage along the river. But the couple that live there say its nonsense and while its awful that child is missing, they had nothing to do with it.
Cottage in the Woods
The sun is low in the sky and it is well past the dinner hour before they arrive at small, well tended cottage, nestled among the trees. A few small gardens are arranged in a clearing just outside the cottage, and a two-wheeled cart sits next to a well. A spotted horse munches on some hay, neither tethered nor hobbled, and a quick Wisdom (Animal Handling) DC 12 test will show the characters that the beast is well past his prime. The cottage is, however, strangely silent, though a soft light glows from within. Glancing around, a Wisdom (Perception DC 15 test will reveal that everything is a bit neglected. Their are too many weeds in the garden and even a bit of moss seems to have grown on the cart.
Old Lady
When the characters inevitably knock on the door, read the following:
As the door opens, a wrinkled old woman, her hair iron gray and pulled back in a bun, stares back at you. She does not open the door all the way, just a crack allowing you to see her furrowed brow and yellowed teeth. The aroma of stewing meat wafts out from the cottage. "What do you want?"
The woman will claim ignorance about any tracks or battle along the river. If pressed, she will show her gnarled, bare feet. "See!" she'll grumble. She also won't open the door al the way and with an Wisdom (Insight) DC 20 will reveal that she is, in fact lying. Her excuses, however, will continue no matter how the characters persist. From within the cabin, the light will begin to pulse. Characters with any sort of allegiance to a good deity may make a Wisdom (Religion) DC 15 test to feel that something within the cabin is calling them. Those devoted to Anderi may make this test at advantage. As the conversation continues, the light patterns will change and the feeling that something needs the character's help will grow among the faithful.
In truth, the woman is an Oni. She and her hate have killed the owners of this cottage - an old man and woman - and assumed their place. They have been raiding the local farms to keep their stewpot full of sheep, dog, and even the occasional wayward cow. They have not, however, been responsible for the death's of any local people. Its too difficult to hide amongst people if you kill them, after all. They also have a terrible secret - they have captured a Light Elemental and trapped it in a lantern. It is this creature, its waves of distressing rolling into any devout characters, that is causing the flashing lights.
Once it becomes apparent that the party will not leave without an answer - or if any character attempts to push their way into the cottage - she will attempt a Charm Person on of the party members while her mate - who has snuck around behind them - unloads with a Cone of Cold from behind cover. She will then revert to her normal, large sized form, striking with her glaive which she has kept just inside the door.
The Aftermath
Should the party subdue the Oni, they can provide useful information. The Oni have only been in this cabin for a few moons, having been driven out of the forests to the east by some sort of horrible abomination - snakes writhing on its face. The creature - which they never have seen - sent frightful dreams their way and had enslaved a number of Ogres, causing them to flee what was once a lovely cave in the woods. An Intelligence (Arcana) DC 20 test will let the character's know that this creature is likely a Mind Flayer.
Searching the area will reveal the bones of several sheep and a cow, clearly slaughtered in the past moon. They will find no signs of the missing people, however. Buried in chest of clothing in the loft an Intelligence (Investigation) DC 15 test will allow the characters to uncover a small pouch of coins - 10 gold and 30 silver.
Once the Oni are subdued or destroyed, the Light Elemental will furiously flash, trying to get the characters to free it from cage. Assuming they do, it will happily tell the characters about its harrowing imprisonment. For nearly half a year it has been trapped in this lantern, serving these horrible creatures. Living in a cave deep in the earth, the Oni had seemed to be guardians of some sort of gate. It was through this gate, in fact, that the they had drawn him onto Tarien and trapped him. It was this same gate, he tells them, that brough the abominations that drove the Oni from the cave. It will detail their flight from the forests from the strange creatures (the description allowing for another Intelligence (Arcana) DC 20 test if needed) and offer to guild the party back to the cave in the forest if they want. The creature, it says, must be stopped. The Elemental notes that while the Oni have definitely taken many sheep, they have not killed any people. It even remembers a small girl coming by that the old woman shoed away.
With darkness falling, the cottage makes a logic place to spend the night.
Experience
Two Oni can be a bit of a challenge and this encounter is worth 8,700 experience.
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