Ladies of the Rainwood

**The Ladies of the Rainwood**, also known simply as **The Hags**, were a coven of three Hags that ruled over the Rainwood in the Kingdom of Lyria. The coven consisted of the Weavess, the Brewess, and the Whispess, each as deadly as the other. They expelled the previous occupants, an ancient community of elves, forcing them to relocate to the city of Oxcross. They were known and revered by the local peasant populace, who willingly gave the ladies orphans in exchange for safety and bountiful harvests. These children, who resided in an orphanage deep in the Rainwood, were devoured by the Hags and used in their black magic rituals. All three were slain by The Nutcrackers, banishing them from Tyria.

## Appearances and Ablities

During their interactions with humanoids, the ladies disguised their appearances to be that of beautiful women; the Whispess took the form of a buxom blonde, the Weavess a slim redhead, and the Brewess a curvaceous brunette. However, when alone or dispatching with enemies, the ladies revealed their true forms- hideous, hunched, twisted monstrosities covered in weeping wounds and puss-filled growths, their eyes filled with maggots and mouths twisted in cruel smiles.

The Hags had an impressive mastery over magic, especially over spells that would be considered amoral. It was evident that when all three were together, their individual powers significantly increased. Likewise, when alone, they were considerably weaker. They exhibited the power to shapechange, turn invisible, dominate lesser monsters, charm humanoids and utilise powerful necromancy. Their twisted forms also seemed to imbue them with significant physical strength, allowing them to use their claw-like hands as weapons as a last resort.

## Interactions with The Nutcrackers

### First Mention

The Nutcrackers first indirectly heard of the Ladies of the Rainwood from Allura Vysoren, who told them of a dark force that had dominated the region and expelled the previous occupants, the elves that currently resided in Oxcross. Seeking a place for the elves of Oxcross to find refuge during The Terror of Oxcross, the Nutcrackers set out to destroy whatever force was holding the region hostage.

### The Orphanage

The party investigated the Rainwood, discovering a run-down orphanage deep within the forest home to dozens of children but seemingly no carers. The children told the party of their carers, the 'Ladies of the Rainwood', and how they had been given to them by their villages after their parents had died in the ensuing war with the Dwendalian Empire. After spying a large, locked hut, the party persuaded one of the children to knock on the door, watching as the boy was violently pulled inside.

The Nutcrackers then devised a cunning ploy to draw the Ladies outside. Ogo, using Theumaturgy, projected the demonic voice of his unknown patron. With the quick quip of 'Oghma, you old food', referring to the Betrayer God Oghma, the ladies proceeded to exit their hut in their beautiful humanoid disguises, the partially devoured body of the child slung over one of their shoulders. The Nutcrackers leaped from their hiding places and a fierce battle ensued, claiming the life of one of the hags, the Weavess, before the other two escaped into the Rainwood using their powers of shapechange and invisibility. Investigating the hut, the party found it littered with gore as well as a bubbling cauldron of human flesh

After escorting the remaining orphans to a nearby village, the Nutcrackers tracked the remaining Hags to their stronghold, the Heart of the Rainwood, a massive tree that looms over the forest. Inside, they were each individually tempted by the Hags, who offered them knowledge and wealth in exchange for allowing them to remain overlords of the Rainwood. The party turned down these offers, slaying the Brewess and Whispess, banishing them from the Material plane to their home plane of the Feywild, where they will likely reform and find their way back to the Material plane. The Nutcrackers then plundered the home of the Hags, notably finding the Staff of the Woodlands and Craven Edge.