The Murkendraw

• The Murkendraw is a swamp as large as a sea— a swamp of weeping willows and rotted fruit, of gnarled roots thrusting up from bubbling quicksand pits, of impenetrable fogbanks stinking of swamp gas, of week-long rainstorms where lightning scours the sodden ground, and of great dire alligators and swamp wasps the size of dogs. It is the home of the hags. The Murkendraw is of the Feywild, and as such it is filled with life, but that life is fundamentally wrong. Dark cults worshiping deities of madness chant in the starless night. Warped mud creatures lurch out from behind stained yellow vine curtains, or suddenly rise from the black waters and clamber at the flat-bottom boats used to travel the stinking byways. After a few weeks of combating the gag-inducing beasts spawned by the corruption of the Murkendraw, adventurers may find themselves pining for the clean, bracing stench of the ordinary undead.
• Although most swamps in the Feywild are infested with hags, the Murkendraw is the home of the most powerful hag of all— the terrible Baba Yaga. She dwells within a dilapidated hut that appears to be set on stilts just above the surface of the swamp waters, and she often takes the form of an old human woman. She can appear to be a friendly old earth mother or a terrifying crone depending on what suits her. If Baba Yaga is threatened and feels overmatched— a rare occurrence— a single ear-splitting whistle awakens her hut.
• The hut then stands, unfolding the long bird legs first taken to be stilts. At full height the hut stands thirty feet tall. Its long legs give the hut amazing speed, and the ability to ignore difficult terrain. The hut can also fight, kicking like a flightless bird with those treelike legs. A single kick can stave in a humanoid’s chest.
• Baba Yaga is pure evil, but she can be bargained with. Like the fomorians, hags crave power, although their agendas are far more subtle. Baba Yaga is willing to trade secret for secret. Adventurers must beware: Of all the fey, Baba Yaga’s bargains are the most treacherously worded. Few are wise enough to outwit her, and the truly wise don’t even try.

Type

Wetland / Swamp