Ericson, a strong lumberjack, worked long and hard to take care of his family. He was devastated when his young wife was taken from him, leaving him on his own with a small child. Shortly after Imogen’s mother had passed away, her grandmother, affectionately known as Ma, had moved in and taken over the role of cooking, cleaning and reading bedtime stories. She was a kind woman and a very gifted sorceress but she was becoming forgetful as humans tend to do at her age. Still, she hadn’t lost her capacity for storytelling. Each night, as she affectionally tucked her granddaughter into bed, Ma would read fairy-tales from her dusty book collection and make the books come to life.
As time went on, strange beings were being spotted by the lumberjacks who worked in the forest. Most of them were harmless, until one day a puddle attacked and killed a wolf. Soon it became a regular occurrence. More and more strange, aggressive puddles. Fearing for his family, Ericson sought the help from Captain Bennald at Guldorand. As word spread, adventurers came to help with the situation.
When the group came to Ericson’s home, Imogen, his daughter was there with her grandmother. “IT WASN’T ME!” Imogen cried at the top of her voice. The group just raised their eyebrow in suspicion. Perhaps the girl shouldn’t have been hearing such stories before bed? The family was taken to safety and the adventurers went to investigate.
After numerous aggressive puddle-creatures attacked, the group found and killed larger water elementals in the area. After investigating the lumberjack’s cottage, a large water elemental appeared which was not aggressive. The group stood by as Arieme spoke to the creature. Eventually, the creature disappeared and the adventurers returned to Guldorand to report their findings.
Arieme stepped forwards, “It was the girl, she planned to kill the entire family in their sleep,” she said with a smirk. Imogen started to cry as her father, Ericson, held her hand. Captain Bennald thanked and rewarded the group as Ericson led his family away.
Later that night, as Imogen slept, Ericson watched as his daughter dreamed. All was quiet. He prayed that this was the end of it.
_________________ Cassie - Cheerful, glitter obsessed fey Nada - Tomboy monk Samina - Druid, still finding her way
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