A witch of unknown species (she uses illusions to change her appearance); she lives in a note-perfect witches' cottage, which is in a mushroom circle, which is in a cavern. The cavern can be accessed from at least one place in Malfa where there are no natural caves; there's no telling where it actually is. Fran is very powerful and seems to enjoy playing games with wandering adventurers.

Fran is a powerful witch who lives in a typical witch cottage, inside a ring of toadstools, which is in an enormous cave deep underground. She seems to find this amusing. The cave itself is clearly not in Malfa or anywhere near it, but according to rumours there are ways into it from Malfa, including one of the hill caves to the north of town (nobody knows which cave), and a landing on the service staircase in the Furthermore.
 
Fran has appeared to people in various forms— goblin, human, ratfolk, dwarf. Nobody knows what she actually is, but she’s very old. She is the eldest of three sisters, all witches; the youngest sometimes sells the sisters’ pastries from a stall in Malfa, with various magical effects. All three sisters have a malicious, possibly cruel sense of humour when it comes to strangers, but Fran is the only one whose home is frequently, though irregularly, attached to Malfa somehow.

Gender

female