Weald's Wake

* Artwork
* Map

Weald's Wake is a forested region in southwestern Ahlus.

## Description

When the Weald Witch was banished back into the Domain of Dread known as The Dirgevale, the forest of Covengrove, long speculated to be a fragmented part of the Domain also vanished, leaving a vast and empty expanse of plains and fields where once dense copses of trees shrouded in chilling mists, glistening webs and ever-stalking shadows existed. After a series of border skirmishes between the settlements of the Hollow Concord to the north and Whittengrove to the south, the new territory was portioned up, and converted formally into stretches of farmland for both pastoral and arable pursuits. Initial harvests were disappointing, the shallow and thin soils subpar compared to most, but after a few years of usage started to yield gradually increased bounties, with the fledgling Aethelwald Empire pressing their claim by means of assuming responsibility for such an occurrence. Citing the colonies of Alseids within the Fairy Club and their innate ability to vitalise crop growth, further skirmishes broke out over dominion of the lands and its yield, though these would come to a dramatic and triumphant end.

The formation of the Weald's Wake and the Bristlebacks to the northeast was insidious at first, the soil and stone growing uneven over a matter of decades, before the sudden arrival of the peaks severed the lands in two with a wall of andesite, granite, limestone and gneiss rising to thousands of feet in a matter of months, with escalations of a few hundred feet each day not unheard of. With it, forests bloomed from former farmland, trees growing from dirt to maturity in a few weeks, and from the depths all manner of creatures came to reside, doing so as if they had for centuries. A curiosity for the learned and the less so alike, samples were taken and studied, finding that each chunk of stone, mound of soil and till of wood showed no abnormalities, nor any lingering magical presence or influence. Nonetheless, research and study is ongoing at the centres of understanding across the continent of Ahlus, and it is now widely assumed that the same process that yielded the seemingly spontaneous created new terrain across the continent also resulted in the appearance of the Bristlebacks to which they are connected.

## Herbs of the Weald's Wake

There was hesitation at first from many, wishing not to venture into the forest that had so recently sprung from seemingly nothing, but as the changes seemed to draw to a close, boldness and curiosity alike prompted the drive to explore, and with it a natural wealth of shrubs, herbs and other substances cultivated in the primal and rich soils and mulch beneath the forest's canopy. The Aethelwald holds control over the trade of most of these resources, with conflicts brewing from such claims to the north where the territories of Lotusbloom Bastion and Thornwatch blend and blur. For alchemists, herbalists, scholars and shamans alike, the Velenthir Estate's markets prove the most viable place to purchase such ingredients, unless they plan to set forth into the forest itself to seek them for themselves.

**Abstainer's Succour.** This slightly bitter liquid, created by brewing the leaves of the likewise-named shrub in lye water, can be added to any nonmagical alcoholic beverage to prevent its drinker from becoming inebriated from its consumption. One dose is sufficient to mollify the inebriating effects of one bottle worth of liquid. *Cost:* 10gp per dose.

**Beast Tongue Frond.** This broad-leafed plant possesses a fleshy pink-red hue, and is covered in small indentations and nodules. When a sufficient quantity of leaves are brewed for an hour, it produces a mixture that works akin to that of a *Potion of Animal Friendship*. Five fronds are necessary to create a single dose. *Cost*: 20gp per frond, 120gp per dose.

**Firecracker Root.** The small hard nodules that grow upon the root of the Firecracker plant can be cast against the ground to create a small spark accompanied by flash of multicoloured light and a bang audible for 120 feet in all directions. Each root typically yields 2d6+3 nodules. *Cost*: 3gp per root, 4sp per nodule.

**Grinnergrub Dust.** Ground from the bulbous maggot-like grains of a grass found scattered in groves of the Weald's Wake, any creature exposed to a dose of Grinnergrub Dust by means of inhalation from a source within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma saving throw or be forced to smile for 1 minute. *Cost*: 8sp per dose.

**Nectarbloom Petal.** The cloying sweet fluid extracted from these tiny maroon and pink flowers can be used as a perfume that grants advantage on all Charisma checks directed at humanoids of CR one or lower. A single dose lasts one hour. *Cost*: 50gp per dose.

**Nymph Vine.** This spindly weed grows in the marshy soils around ponds, granting the consumer the ability to breathe underwater for up to one hour. *Cost*. 80gp per dose.

**Sentry Shrub.** Pulverising the stems of a sentry shrub creates a dose of amber orange oil that when added to a drink allows the creature that consumes it to gain a state of watchful rest. After taking a full dose, a creature cannot be put to sleep by magical means, and can remain awake during a long rest and still gain its benefits. *Cost*: 75gp per dose.

**Shimmer Leaf.** The processing of Shimmer Leaf creates a pearlescent powder that can grant a temporary form of invisibility. As an action, you can coat the Shimmer Leaf powder over yourself, each creature and any object within 5 feet of you to become invisible for 1d4 minutes. If a creature affected by the powdered Shimmer Leaf attacks or casts a spell, its invisibility ends. *Cost*: 200gp per dose.

**Stubble Balm.** This musky-scented balm, created by the dissolution of the roots of the Vlysovy plant, helps bolster healthy beard growth. When applied to a creature capable of growing a beard, Stubble Balm causes a beard to grow over the next ten minutes, stopping when it reaches the creature's waist. The colour of this beard is determined by the reagents used to produce the balm. *Cost*: 5gp per dose.

**Unctuo Root.** The pale-cream oil extracted from this root can be used to make a thick earthy smelling salve that can cure a number of ailments. Each root typically yields 1d4+1 doses of salve. As part of an action, this salve can cure any disease or poison effect. *Cost*: 150gp per root, 55gp per dose.

**Worm Sage.** When powdered, worm sage creates a coarse pale green mix than when inhaled as an action can create a cataleptic stupor indistinguishable from death in a willing creature, lasting up to one hour per dosage administered. Repeated dosages can present a latent toxicity that hinders a creature's ability to be targetted effectively by conventional healing draughts, potions and spells. *Cost*: 125gp per dose.