Glaring Freda

Glaring Freda was a green hag residing within Covengrove.

She was one of the three members of the Hallowed Circle, the most powerful and notorious hag coven in the forest, before being slain at Velenthir Estate during a last stand against the Weald Witch.

## Description

Glaring Freda had proven herself to be a powerful spellcaster, particularly in matters of enchantment and transmutation. When presented a scale by Hassk, she casually transformed it into an iron tooth marked with an eye-like symbol and a sylvan rune, returning it to him as a necklace in similar fashion to those worn by the residents of Festertarn. It was implied that she can see through the dolls found dotted through the forest, crafting them from hessian and felt.

The true appearance of Glaring Freda was only experienced in flashes, usually accompanied with actions intended to imbue a sense of fear or terror - most notably so the extraction and subsequently feasting upon of William Bolstra's left eye after his demise at the hands of Kinghazel. She had been shown to be capable of taking many forms, including that of beasts of varying sizes. Gaunt of frame with fingers and arms mismatched to her height, it was the sunken and dark eyes of Freda that are among her most notable features, her eponymous feature. Despite this, while undoubtedly malign in spirit and intentions, she was not inherently outwardly hostile, encouraging the adventurers that visited her during Pinnul-Greencrown 7 WD to make themselves comfortable before retaliating to their assault.

## History

Following closely to the Rule of Three, the Hallowed Circle had, as per near hag covens, three members. All three claim descendence from the pairing of Velun and the Weald Witch, as all hags of Ahlus are said to be, albeit indirectly. Fearsome entities in their own right, when working in unison the trio were capable of powers unimaginable reaching for the peak of the capabilities of inherently mortal beings.

The residents of Festertarn referred to the Hallowed Circle as the Dowagers, seeing them as a protective presence - making offerings of penance in the form of mutilation in exchange for the support and guidance. In addition, it was believed by the residents of Festertarn that the figure Bomenor was chosen by the Dowagers to act as their intermediary, whereas they were in reality Glaring Freda in disguise.

She maintained a hovel near the settlement, guarded by Banderhobbs and the undead treant Kinghazel. Within were all manner of curiosities, including jars and cages filled with specimens living, deceased and somewhere in between. Most notable however was a wall within her house dedicated to crude portraits of the residents of Festertarn, present and past, all as children and adolescents. A few amongst these are distinguished by having red eyes etched in a mixture of tree sap and blood etched over their own - a depiction of Trele was noted to be among these select few.

## Death

Following on from the death of Crooked Dolores Tallowstumble at Dirgevale Crypt at the hands of a group of adventurers, the Weald Witch surmised the group's plans, and so moved swiftly to crush any effort to cause her banishment back to the Domain of Dread intended to be her eternal prison. Wielding the entirety of the forest of Covengrove like a puppeteer, she assaulted Velenthir Estate, bringing with her a vast army of evil fey, trolls, monstrosities as well as both Glaring Freda and Magnhild Juniperspawn.

Glaring Freda was originally absent from the battlefield, in reality hidden within the undead form of Ninlith, hollowed clean of bone and flesh to conceal Kinghazel, a group of banderhobbs and Glaring Freda herself, whom had enchanted Ninlith's bulbous skull into an enchanted flying cauldron. Glaring Freda was severely damaged by Callum Earthbane's use of Meteor Swarm, but eventually slain by the ogre bolt launcher Kronk Keen-Eye, who shoot her through while she was restrained in the air by Hassk's spectral couatl conjured by use of the *Bigby's Hand* spell. After the Weald Witch's banishment, her body vanished.