Hex 4

4. The Poison Tree

Near the source of the stream, near the middle of the hex, is a natural cut that looks like a wall, carved from a hillside. A cave is hollowed out in the middle of the cut. Outside the cave is a twisted, blackened walnut tree. Near the base of the tree is a dead squirrel. If someone examines the tree carefully, they will see wisps of spider silk dangling in the branches.

The walnut tree has been twisted by evil magic such that the nuts that fall from the tree are poisoned. Consuming the walnuts causes 1 hp of damage per nut (save vs. poison for half damage). There are 67 walnuts here currently, another 112 not yet ripe on the tree. Every season the tree bears 40d8 walnuts. Note that cooking, grinding, or otherwise using the nuts does not diminish the poison effect.

The Cave Tomb: The cave is a tomb, shunned by the locals as haunted. The cave reaches back into the hillside 30’. About 15’ into the cave are three corpses, seated with their backs against the cave walls. The bodies, locals by the looks of them, are in various states of decay. The first is clearly decades old, maybe older, propped against the cave wall in a seated position, legs out straight, head tipped onto the chest,arms folded on the lap.  It is a desiccated husk of a man wearing a dented helmet, the shreds of a tunic, dry rotted gauntlets and the rotted remains of leather boots. If carefully inspected, servicable spurs can be found buried in the dirt and gravel just under the right boot (worth 3 sp). A wide belt with a sword sheath (empty), a dagger sheath (empty), and a bone scroll case (with a small fragment of a parchment, probably a map - see below)  is laying casually across the corpse’s lap. The other two, about two paces beyond the first, are much more recent.  Apparently locals, their flesh still soft, though no foul stench rises from the cave. They bear slashing wounds and one has an arm that was severed which propped next to the corpse. These bodies have nothing of interest or value on them.

In the back of the cave, cut into the limestone, is a niche in which lays a human body. If disturbed, the body will (very quickly) arise and attack as a huecuva.In the deepest recess of the niche are a number of items: 12063 cp (all but three of these copper coins are bent nearly in half - they are Hamlish coins from over a hundred years ago), 932 sp (all of the silver coins have been defaced, the image on the facing side has been scratched beyond recognition, though “tails” depicts city of Fendaron, capital of the Kingdom of Hamlin - these coins are at least 100 years old and probably illegal in the Empire), a silver bottle engraved with images of a river and trees sealed with black wax stamped with signet of a swan - inside is a thick blue liquid (Elixir of Life, the bottle iteself is worth 15 gp), Parchment Map with notes promising Magic Treasure with the lower left corner torn off (in bone scroll case above) - the map is a regional map, though rather inaccurate, from 400 years ago and leads to the Gnome King’s Hall, Magical Bone Armor (Lord Kalar’s Vest - treat as splint mail +1, allows the wearer to speak to the dead once per day at the cost of 1d8 hp), a sword and a dagger.

Near the Poison Tree lairs a Giant Carrion Spider (see new monsters). The creature patrols the region frequently, looking for creatures that have succumbed to the poison walnuts. There is a 30% chance per turn spent here that the spider will lumber into the area. It is careless and reckless since it has never encountered a sentient being in this region (as mentioned, the locals shun this area believing it to be haunted, and the goblins haven’t encountered this place yet), but if reduced to 50% of its hit points or less it will flee for its lair.

Spider Lair: The Giant Carrion Spider’s lair is a maze of spider silk, bones, offal, branches and deadwood, in the heart of a dark grove of hemlock trees. The Spider knows its lair intimately and has strung silk lines throughout that function as an alarm system, alerting the creature to the location of any intruder larger than a small dog (even invisible creatures will set off these “alarms” - thieves move silently at -30% and hide in shadows at -40%, others make DEX check with a penalty of 6 to avoid accidently causing vibrations in the silk lines).

The Giant Carrion Spider will defend its lair to the death.

The central pit of the lair contains the only “treasure”, though the PCs might not recognize it as such. Among the bones and offal and cast off bits of silk and branches is a small stone, perhaps only 8” in diamter. It is notable because there are no other stones within the nest, and because of its color: it is a deep, dark purple. The stone, however, does not radiate magic or give any indication that it is of particular value. This is a Moonstone (see new magic), one of the most coveted items in all of the realms.

TO FINISH: image, map?