Trickster’s Playground

There's never a good place to get lost, but there are some places where it can be far more dangerous than others. Down in the south of the forest is one such place - the abandoned village of Songfall. Don't be ashamed if you haven't heard of it. The name doesn't appear on any maps of the area, though you may have seen a region marked as being too dangerous to enter. At the centre of that is where Songfall used to be, at least until the events that turned it into the Trickster's playground.

When travelling through the south keep a good watch on the sky. If you see the moon in the wrong place or more than one in the sky then turn around and start running. If you are lucky you might make it out before the Trickster notices you

— Paliinere Gemflower, hunter

Once, Songfall was a regular village. Trees were grown into the homes, food was gathered from the forest, and people there spent their lives in peace. The village got it's name from a unique enchantment placed on the trees which caused the fall of leaves, nuts, or fruit to play a sound. The each of object falling played a different note, creating tunes that ranged from the beautiful to the painful.
While many of the villagers took pride in the music that brought visitors to listen to the sounds every autumn, some were less than enthusiastic. Some simply left, but one foolish youth decided to do something about the sounds that were so unpleasant to listen to. Lacking any kind of magic or knowledge of how to undo the spell that he found so distasteful, this youth turned to The Archfey, and even went so far as to call on the Sylvan Trickster by name.
The Trickster, ever bored with his confinement, was only to happy to answer and provided the youth with a ritual to end the sounds of the falling leaves. The preparations for the ritual took years, but the youth was determined. Guided by the Trickster's agents he arranged for the ritual to be completed on the night of a moon festival in the middle of autunmn so that it would have the maximum impact on the villagers and the visitors.

There were hundreds gathered to celebrate the full moon and listen to falling leaves when the music suddenly stopped. As everyone looked around in confusion they were horrified to see two moons shining in the night sky. Even as frantic shouts broke the sudden silence those near the edge sof the gathering noticed a low growl from between the trees. It didn't sound like anything that roamed this part of the forest, but anyone who heard it interpreted it as a threat. Before the village elders could restore order, the eldest was suddenly grabbed by a set of branches that had swung down from a nearby tree. Screams and shouts from all around made it clear this wasn't an isolated incident and all attempts to restore order were abandoned.

Youth with no Name
After the disaster at Songfall, the name of the youth who conducted the ritual was struck from all records, and it became a crime to even mention his name. It's not clear whether this was meant as punishment or precaution, and it has become impossible to enforce the restriction as no-one now knows what name musn't be said.

Strange beasts came barrelling out of the undergrowth and plants and trees tried to entangle anyone in reach. Those who could move started running, though even the locals had no idea where they were going as the trees and plants were unfamilar or warped into new forms. The youth that had performed the Trickster's ritual was one of the first to fall to the beasts, and the last thing he heard was the Trickster's laughter that soon spread so that it could be heard across the village.
The few who made it out brought word to the nearby villages, but no-one was willing to venture back into Songfall so word was sent to Calen Tal tel’Taure for aid. It took nearly a week for soldiers and wizards to arrive from the capital and when they made their way towards the village they founda horrific scene. Of those that had not escaped, the luckiest were the ones who had died quickly. Those that had survived had been altered and broken in various ways. Some had been merged with plants or animals. while others seemed to think that they were animals. But there was little sign of the animals and strange plants that had been described.
A garrison was established to keep watch on the area, and for several months everything seemed normal. Then it happened again. The soldiers of the garrison had grown careless in the months since the first incident and many were lost as the forest once again changed. The survivors told tales of beasts that are normally only seen in the feywild, bringing the body of one as proof. Word was again sent to the capital, prompting the intervention of the spellweavers who declared that the region was too dangerous for anyone to enter.
Now the ruins of Songfall are only visited by those who have gotten lost, or perhaps been misled by those bound to the Trickster. The lucky ones quickly realise where they are and flee. The rest becomes little more than playthings for that most malicious of Archfey.

This was written for Spooktober 2023 to answer the Moon Prompt.

Related Locations

Feywild

Related Organisations

Ancient Kingdom of the Forest
The Archfey

Related People

Sylvan Trickster

Playground

The Trickster is normally not allowed to interfere with the mortal realm but the ritual that was cast here causes the region to temporarily overlap with the feywild. Since anyone in the area is essentially in the feywild they are considered fair game for the Trickster. While others in the Archfey have banded together to prevent a repeat of what happened to Songfall, since the ritual was willingly performed by a mortal they have left this as a playground for the Trickster.

Mixture of Plants

The playground has a strange mixture of flora as it contains species from the feywild and the material plane. In some plases there are even unique cross-breeds. These plants haven't spread beyond the playground as they need the magic of the feywild to survive, which has at least kept the more dangerous ones in check. The combination of plants makes the playground a valuable place for acquiring materials that would otherwise require a difficult trip to the feywild itself, though there are few brave and foolish enough to venture in.

Shifting Planes

The overlap with the feywild is not constant. It weakens and strengthens on a regular basis as the planes shift around each other. The strongest period occurs for 2 days once every 71 days and during this time the region is fully subject to the Trickster's whims.