The Ladies Three

The Ladies Three is a book of poems, short stories, and illustrations, purchased by our heroes in Vallaki, currently in Bodaway's possession. All poems and stories on this page are in some cases straight up taken from and in other cases adapted from here, but I would not advise any players click that link as there may be spoilers and/or misinformation there.

Poems

"The Ladies Three"

Three ladies crouched by open flame
One sat weaving
One slept dreaming
One watched the skies for rain

"She who Hunts"

Where is my lady? High on the hill
Dead on her feet but tireless still
A dress of hide and a crown of bone
and where she walks, she walks alone

"She who Weaves"

My lady's true, but far from kind
Keep your word and keep your mind
Whispered words and silken thread
will bind the swift and raise the dead

"She who Seeks"

My lady watches for the weather
she knows the road and where it wends
She knows the stars and those they tether
All beginnings and all ends

"Prayer to the Seeker"

Do not tell me what is written
in the clouds and changing sky
in the lines of aging faces
in the birds and how they fly
Do not tell me what fate whispers
hidden sorrows set in stone
Do not tell me, middle sister
let the future stay unknown

Stories

"The White Wolf"

Long ago, in a mountain village, there lived a mighty hunter. The hunter was beloved by all his people, as he could take down two elk for every other man’s one, and they knew that so long as he made his home there, none need ever starve.

But there was one trophy he could not catch: the white wolf, a beautiful creature who preyed on the town’s sheep. Time and time again he tried to best the beast with traps, weapons, and magic. He failed, and he failed, and he failed. He was too weak.

At last he begged his mistress, the Lady of the Mountain, to help him catch this magnificent wolf, and save the village before the cruel winds of winter blew in. She acquiesced, and the next night he waited in the fields for the wolf, confident that with the Lady’s blessing, he could beat the beast.

The battle was short, and brutal. The villagers huddled in their homes, listening to the agonized screams of the hunter as the wolf tore him to pieces, before she returned to the forest, never to be seen again. That night, the village learned that the Huntress doesn’t make deals with prey.

"Lady of the Lake"

A young boy visited Lake Zarovich to pay tribute to the Seeker, when a beautiful woman cloaked in raven’s feathers stepped out from the water to greet him.

Excited, the boy asked the woman to tell him his future.

She frowned, warning him such truths are better left unknown. He insisted, and, mournfully, the woman showed him his future on the surface of the lake.

He saw his parents being buried, the date of their death later that year, and heard the gravedigger say it was all the boy’s fault.

Horrified, the young boy jumped into the water and drowned himself. A few days later, when his parents found out, they hanged themselves in grief.

The Seeker wept, the lake swelling with her tears.

“Presents of the Past”

A young man found himself plagued by misfortune. All his bets were losing ones, all he planted turned to rot, all he loved turned to ash and dust. He asked for advice from all his friends, he prayed to every god he knew, but still he could not overcome his terrible luck.

Finally, he asked Grandmother. She was not his grandmother, but everyone called her Grandmother, because she had been around as long as anyone could remember, and always had good advice for anyone who asked it, though her advice was usually not pleasant to hear.

Go to the swamp, she told the young man, and ask the Weaver. The misfortunes of the present bloom from seeds sown in the past. The Weaver will look through warp and weft and will tell you which threads led you to such darkness.

So the young man gathered up his courage and a bundle of sweet flowers as a gift and made his way into the swamp. He travelled many days, through murky water and sucking muck, until finally he found her in her hut, where she waited for him.

I knew you would come, the Weaver told the man, and I know what you seek. Long ago, your forefather did a terrible injury to my home, and that of my sisters. He fouled the waters of my swamp, and carved treasures out of my sister’s mountains, and cut down the trees of my sister’s forest. He believed himself above the land he lived on, and he paid the price, as have all of his name ever since.

You are the first to bring me a gift and seek to right this wrong. Tread gently as you leave, and make amends with my sisters, and you will be freed of this curse.

So he continued his journey, far from home, and when he found the Seeker in her forest, he offered the last of his water that her trees might drink, and when he found the Huntress on the mountain, he pledged his bones to her when he died, and with their blessings he returned to his village, where he found his luck had changed. Now all that he planted flourished, and he found himself with many friends, a wife, many children. And every day, he never forgot to offer his thanks to the Ladies Three, and to treat their homes with care.

Other Notes

The book contained an assortment of other stories and poems. It indicated that the Weaver seems to be more playful than the others, but is also keeper of the past. Her recurring imagery included weaving, webs, and swamps. The Seeker seemed solemn but sociable, and was the keeper of the future. Her recurring imagery included ravens and the forest. The Huntress, keeper of the dead, was severe and remote, and her recurring imagery included antlers and mountains.

If you're ever caught in an RPG campaign, look for a battered old volume of folklore in the local bookstore to help guide you towards plot hooks. There's only a 40% chance you'll end up irrevocably bound to an eldritch horror!

Item type

Book / Document