APPLEHALL

 

Hook: Rumour is, those who enter the nearby forested hills never return, and dark things have begun to roam the wood. The rumours were, up until recently, you might run afoul of elves, playful tricksters cavorting in those woods, but, never more than a glimpse, and, if you were lucky, and gave them gifts and left their woods as you found them, you might receive a draught or two of fine apple wine as a reward for your courtesy. But, recently the forest has become a place full of shadows and ominous portents... Carrion birds have replaced the songbirds and frolicking wildlife common for the area. And the eaves of the wood have become menacing, the trees seeming to have taken on a grim life of their own.

Details: The forest has, in fact, become the target of an evil spirit, a shadow from the mountains wandered down into the foothills to find a place to work its evil, contentious will. The spirit has poisoned the apples grown by the elves, and, by extension, the entirety of that tribe of merry folk. They have all died, except for the Elven King who has become possessed by the spirit and has begun to rally the forces of death to his side, starting with his own house. Skeletons of elves now roam the halls of the palace. The Elf King, himself, is a cold, brutal reflection of the once jovial sovereign... The Apple Tree at the heart of the complex has become corrupt and now produces only poisoned fruit that drains the spirit from living things.