The Green Lady (Bella)

The Woman in Green: Bella (recently of Mosshaven for 2 years)

Prerequisite

The party should be well established in Torrelsons Ford – a known fixture and participants of several adventures. They should have some renown and reputation enough to attract the attention of Bella. She comes for the obvious ability to make money off both the PCs and Baronial family (and mercenaries!). War time profiteering seems to be her primary motivation. While she makes no claims about her adventures, its obvious shes “been there, done that”. She knows the mindset of people quite well.

Perceived by the Dragon: Unfortunately, she is the perfect target for the Green Dragon when it awakens, Na’grindl the Green. The dragon will leverage the PCs relationship with her to sew all sorts of chaos and distrust.

Spying on her Clandestine: Her figure is a strange in the dim light. Her skin is dry and ashy, she has many scars on her, but she seems to move without pain, lithely and even sensuously. Even her skin looks greenish in reflections and when wet (orrish ancestry?).

[i] DC 10 Intelligence (Nature) > Shes definitely not directly Orrish heritage, despite the greenish skin
[i] DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) > She could be a Green Hag, though not like any you have heard of, her altruism does not fit the profile.

If the party does confront her, depending on when in their relationship, she may actually admit to being of Green Hag heritage, but suffice to say she does not share the evil corruption others of her kind have.

8th warlock/4th sorc (Seeker) w/Occult Aptitude; Background: Hermit
S4: Quickened + subtle spell meta magic (all dragons must take this) makes spell not need v or s for 1
W8: Olde One (Draconi Firstus Pact)

Strength 17
Intelligence 18
Wisdom 15
Dexterity 12
Constitution 18
Charisma 16
Sanity 16

Powers

Grasping Vines and Roots
Animal Watchers
Leaves no passage (around her ‘lair’)

Spells

Cantrips: Prestidigitation, Poison Spray (Disadvantage on saves from swamp affinity)
Spells: 2+1 @2nd: [4+2] Identify, Locate Object, Detect Magic, Enthrall, Charm Person, Invisibility
Eldritch Invocations: Misty Visions (Silent Image at will), Beast Speech (Speak with Animals at will)
Skills: Astrology (Expert), Herbalism Kit (Expertise), Healing Kit, History, Nature (Expert)
Lores: [+3] Dunstrand, Monsters, Undead, Orrish, Dragons, Swamp (Dwindor)
Affliction: Madness – her isolation from her clan and people have driven her slightly mad. Sometimes she appears paranoid, and her avariciousness shows through easily.

Bella is a midwife and a specialist in herbalism, and an Astrologist! She is known to possess knowledge of the local tales of Dunstrand passed orally from many, many centuries ago. She is often seen on the outskirts of town, in the wetlands – looking for rare plants.

She can make:

  • [10 silvers] Mustard Poultice (+1 overnight healing for 3 nights, prevents infection of a wound and swamp rot); starts campaign with D6+1 (can make more)
  • [50 silvers] Purgative (prevents natural healing for 24 hours, does 1 damage, and removes swamp rot and many natural diseases); starts campaign with D3+1
  • [75 silvers] Burn Balm (10 points; expires in 48 hours)
  • [50 silvers] Moss Poultice (stops bleeding, heals d4+2 in 8 hours; expires in 5 days)
  • [25 silvers] Leaf Roll (smoke to suppress 1 level of Exhaustion for 24 hours; expires in 3 days)
  • [200 silvers] She can make a potion of Enthrall (she is rumored to have made one for the Baron in one of his recent town square speech’s) – but she will need a special ingredient from the swamp (the PCs must retrieve it from Moor Cat territory!).
  • [25 silvers] She may be persuaded (DC 16) to reveal she can make a love potion too – it will require some piece of the intended target (hair, nail, blood, saliva, etc.) “Tis not a true love potion, but it will get them to notice you above all others for a brief moment – it’s up to you after that!”
  • She may be persuaded to sell the party some of her private stash (see the contents of her trunk).
  • Potion of Water Breathing or Potion of Poison ingredients; Arcana DC 12 check in the cottage; 1+D3 days for each; one of each. 100 silvers and 200 silvers but they expire in 3 days.

Trunk (in her cottage): Lock x 2; DC 10 and DC 13 w/Poison (DC 15 Constitution check or 10 damage per round for 4 rounds – save for half); Inside is 2 books (spell book in Draconic and a journal with notes on the town, state of the war, the world, and local folk in Draconic – organized in an odd way), black Dragon Scale armor [in a false bottom; Resilience 2, Barrier 1 (mystic – rad/necro/psychic no)], 4 writs of deposit for thousands of silver (forgeries) in Bar-Innis area, a Potion of Fire Resistance, Potion of Poison Resistance, Potion of Water Breathing, 2 scrolls of Detect Magic, ancient (crumbling) Scale armor [in a false bottom], Balm of Bad Ends (this pot has 3 doses of an unguent that when smeared on a target, in 3 rounds will attract a Swarm of Insects on them if there are enough nearby), silvered dagger, Gloves of Missile Snaring, Potion of Nourishment (trial; CON DC 12; heals 3 [-3 fail or +3 major], full day of food, +2 Perception 24 hours) x 2. A total of 8 trinkets. 823 silvers, 200 silvers worth of minor jewelry. Scrolls of Protection: Disease x2, Poison x2, acid, fire, and cold. Bella initially gained her occult knowledge through a magical grimoire. She has a wizard type spell book: Identify, Locate Object, Detect Magic, Enthrall, Charm Person, Invisibility. She has a spell scroll of Scorching Ray x6 – a Wizard would need to make a DC 12 Arcana check to use it correctly, it was a gift to her from a wizard. Scroll of Ray of Sickness (1st), Alter Self (2nd); Ring of Minor Stone Power – Attunement required; D3+1 charges per day: Stone Shape (2), Expeditious Retreat (1), Arcane Lock (1); resistance to acid and non-magic bludgeon, pierce and slash. This is an ancient Bronzemen artifact (Arcana DC 20; resists attempts to Identify and Detect > 3 different command words in Dunlapian). – She generally wears this black basalt ring only outside of town. Alchemy Jug
Dagger of Life Stealing (+2 + 10 necrotic damage on crit = 10 Healing); detect good 10’; impulse 10’ kill children; take it out must taste blood; necromancer gains 5hp on full hit/good align = +1 only/half effective; Rope of Climbing (leads to the ledge, knotted = escape means); Amulet of Health

Description: Bella is a middle aged woman with olive skin – a dusky color belying a mixed heritage from the south perhaps. She has an austere look to her, like she has had to accommodate a lot in her life and is not happy about it. Her shoulder length dark hair is pulled back with a loop. She wears elbow length supple gloves and wears plain clothes of green and brown earth tones. At her hip is a full sized dagger scabbard – rather nasty looking for someone in her line of work (the Black Shore and river delta are tough places!). Her sharp green eyes are slightly bloodshot, her skin is unadorned and without many wrinkles, and she has no visible scars.

Things to Notice:

  • She has Astrological symbols embroidered on her clothes and gear – she is a believer!
  • She might be wearing a ring under the gloves.
  • She might be wearing an amulet or holy symbol under her robes (you can see a necklace of silver).
  • She speaks with a strange accent (south? north?) and sometimes a lisp (Perception DC 10)
    She hints at being from Mosshaven in Bar-Innis (she makes casual reference in conversation – it seems she had competition there)
  • Her clothes are ALWAYS clean (no matter how much mud she tracks through)
  • The sight and talk of money always perks her up (DC 16 to notice a slight salivation)
  • DC 10 Perception; There are no books in her cottage (if asked, she taps her head and smiles; “it’s all up here!”)

Bella’s History

Recent: She came the the town about 3 months before the party got there. Prior to that, she claims to have grown up in the barony of Lily Glen – she does know all there is to know about the Black Shore Road. She knows quite a bit about the Earldom of Bar-Innis. Her accent is a bit off (DC 15 Perception) – it does not match any local, it seem more like a mish mash from all over… more like the accent of one of the Elon travelers. She never seems to have been married – at least nothing to that affect ever comes up in conversation. Her family is long dead and she wont talk about it.

Future: Bella portrays herself as an older woman, but she cannot help her more expensive taste in fashion. Hints she lets go may indicate her noble upbringing, and she is certainly haughty in moments where she need not be. Her stated end goal is to retire in the out of the way barony of Crestwold. She wants to sell her stores, buy a patch of land, and live the good life. She has several writes of deposit.

Relations with House Malor: House Malor is watching her, but believe nothing more than she is a hedge wizard or warlock, selling minor cures and love potions. They have in fact, used her services. She pays them no mind though, which frustrates them as they believe (though cannot prove) she is using wizardly magic.

Ancient: She is obviously over 100 the way she talks about the past. Her face has deep crows-feet, but she is lively, and strong and hale for her age.

Bella’s Enclosure

Her cottage has hanging roots, dried plants, petals, and many preserved dried items. Several mortar and pestles have various substances she is working on. It smells of mustard and herbs. She has a pigeon roost, rabbit hutches and a duck pond outside her cottage – they are always full.

Things to Notice:

  • Astrology symbols
  • Waiting outside her cottage; DC 14 Perception check to notice animals watching.

Bella’s Home

  • Makeup: This seems like an excessive amount. In fact, its used to mask her virtually undetectable origins. Her green tint skin would normally give her away as a half orc (orcish ancestry any way!).

Events with Bella, the Green Lady

Timeline

Start: At least 3-5 months of the campaign time should have passed before introducing this set of scenes.
[ __ ] Provides healing for baron troops
[ __ ] Rumor that she took a young boy away from an attacking dog
[ __ ] There’s a noxious weed growing near the well – blood and garlic – she causes it to die back
[ __ ] Saves a woman’s wife in childbirth
[ __ ] Caught a snooping ____ (opp faith) in a trap at her cottage clearing
[ __ ] There was a sickness in the beer at the inn and she cured it
[ __ ] One farmer had woolrot in their sheep and she cured it (only 2 died)
[ __ ] The seneschals wife stepped on a rusty nail – she cured the infection
[ __ ] The Rime Soldiers of the east seem drawn to the town for a brief time, she follows them to see where they fade back to
[ __ ] She tests out a warding from natural ingredients found on the Black Shore and the Rime Soldier spirits never come in her enclosure

Birds of a Feather

At some point, if she becomes aware that the party has a relationship with Lucky (LRS), she will want a meeting. She is very interested in trading and trying to get the upper hand on the rascal.

Reward:

Ashfall Calling

Background: The ancient Bronzeman calls to the creatures of the swamp reactivate at Ashfall. They draw the few remaining Lizardmen.

Bella’s Role

Bella knows all about the ancient enmity between the Brine Soldier and Rime Soldier spirits breeding new bloodshed. She has some specific knowledge of the defeat of Apshai and what happened at Ashfall. It is locked away in her memories from conversing with spirits and tomes she has found. Her madness prevents her from seeing things clearly.

Lizard Folk of Dwindor

Lizardman call
Lizardfolk shaman ritual of the upright form; elvish roots from long ago, disguise to interact with humanoids alter self renewed each week
They are drawn to a place in the delta on the Murchart River,and seek to re-establish a lair. They find a place near Torrelsons Ford. The bulk of their tribe (about 30) is miles away.

A Reason for Love

Characters will return to town

Maweh McRanyish: Maweh is the daughter of Richard (a cooper) and Ginny (a seamstress for the Baron’s family). She was groomed to be a seamstress as well, but her passion was dance. She learned all the courtly dances from the Baron’s staff and the wild seasonal ones from the Green Church. She dances in a local tavern and is the fantasy of many a local lad.

Bradley Tilvers: Bradley is the 2nd son of Elgin (a boat repairman and sailor) and Theresa (mother of 4, gardener and goose tender). Bradley is young, handsome and seeks to find his way as a sailor. He has been down the Queens Coast on a few trips and through Dwindor and up part of the Nanford river as a hired hand on a barge. He is an avid bird watcher.

Investigating Blaylons Reply

Events seem to surround this place. She will want the party to assist in this, and will pay them well.

Rubble chokes the ancient entrance, but there is clear signs of recent activity.

Ancient Treasure Hoard

Bolt of Silk (120 gp), Gold Cloth Ribbon (130 gp), Leather Belt set with Azurite (20 gp)
Bolt of Silk (120 gp), Gold Cloth Ribbon (130 gp), Leather Belt set with Azurite (20 gp), Banded Agate (9 gp), Iolite (40 gp), Red Spinel (100 gp), Sardonyx (40 gp), Fiery Yellow Corundum (900 gp), Jet (90 gp), Malachite (12 gp), Rock Crystal (20 gp), 12 gold, 1302 silver

Potion of Healing x2, Potion of Climbing x2, Drift Globe x3, Scroll: [cleric]

Adventures