The Haunted Hag
A community of wood elves in the High Forest detected vicious alien flora in their lands and searched for its source, bringing them into conflict with the blossoming army of the green fey lord, Dunleibhe. As they marshalled their defenses, they were unaware of a poisoned seed in their midst. The green hag Doreena Dirge-Dancer, having escaped her failure at Everlund, had found the elves and was living among them in the guise of a refugee dryad fleeing human predation. The incursion of Dunleibhe's creations was the perfect opportunity to inspire dread and despair. The result was a grim resistance, effective but fatalistic. The wood elves succeeded in containing the incursion by throwing themselves into desperate battles with no thought for their own survival. By the time fey allies led by the treant Turlang had arrived, the wood elves had been decimated, much to Doreena's dark delight.
All was not well with Doreena, however. A wood elf priestess named Keylosia had uncovered her identity and confronted her. The young cleric was no match for the wicked hag, but death would not deny her revenge. As Doreena's claws bled the life from her, the elf maid called up a terrible curse. Keylosia became a vengeful wraith haunting Doreena relentlessly, returning night after night, driving the once-proud hag to desperation. So desperate, in fact, that Doreena turned to the adventurers who defeated her for protection.
Doreena adopted the guise of a beautiful, full-figured Calishite woman with a verdant fashion sense in the bardic style and short dark hair. She approached the adventurers, claiming to seek the heroes who defeated the Everlund Slasher. She gave her name as Akesha, and related a false tale of terror.
Through diligent work on my part, I won the trust of a village of wood elves within the High Forest. I had a spent a tenday sharing songs and poetry with them when the scouts returned with stories of unfamiliar flora in their territory. Before long, they were at war with waves of poisonous vines and carnivorous trees.
Though I am no warrior, I did what I could. They sent for help from the guardians of the forest, but the situation grew dire. In a final, desperate surge, they pushed the invasive plants back beyond their borders, but at a terrible cost.
Reinforcements gathered by the treant Turlang had just begun to arrive when my own story turned dark. The spirit of one of the elves seems to have attached itself to me. Perhaps she equates my arrival with the advent of those alien plants. She seems angry, hopeless, and lashes out at me in her despair. I’ve exhausted the little magic I possess trying to keep her at bay. I fear I won’t be able to hold her back.
Doreena kept up her lie as long as she could, but the adventurers eventually saw through her illusions and attacked, leaving her little opportunity to plea for her life. They ended the green hag's career once and for all.
Doreena Disguised as "Akesha"
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