The Mothers

Not to be confused with Mother

"Hagtober" - a term referring to a brief season that the mothers tortured Isonhound

The Mothers were a coven of three green hags that terrorized Isonhound around 825 PR, they often met with warry travelers at the crossroad Apara, where they were well-loved by the locals as powerful alchemists and providers for the little town there.

About

Each of the three Mothers were also bakers, each making a specialty treat that they would pass out to those unfortunate enough to fall for their alluring tricks. They supply the small hamlets in the area with their special cakes and pies. They are laced with mild alchemies that offer a wide variety of results. Usually revolving around their particular name.

The Mothers were also considered personal enemies of some specific Fey in their area, namely Tristram Caniedydd.

Charmed

It was in early fall of 825 PR that the hags had fallen victim to an even higher, darker power, masquerading under the psuedonym "The Shadow Lord". The Shadow Lord instructed them to continue to sew chaos, specifically pointing them towards several locations in Isonhound to bring their brand of disaster, including inside of Seglock where no dragons could enter.

Members

Mother Love

Mother Love had a side gig. She found and trained Egg Hunters to find and recover dragon eggs. She had been selling them to Horatio.

Mother Love was responsible for sending the heroes of the Greedy Green after the Black Dragon known as Thymorala. Apparently the black dragon had been causing her personal problems, keeping her from accessing a unique set of Feytouched Herbs near the dragon's lair.

She offered them various alchemical ingredients...and also her iconic Mother Love Pie. Which was enough of a reward to twist the heroes into enacting her will, ridding her of an enemy.

When Mother Love found out that the group she sent ALSO stole the dragon's eggs for themselves, she wasn't nearly as pleased and began a campaign to steal the eggs.

Gregory,

The black dragon has, unfortunately, been dispatched and her clutch stolen. The dragon hunters that have risen in Isonhound lately are becoming... problematic. You are to seek out new dragon lairs and determine if any are laying eggs. Inform me as soon as you have information so that I may set my babies to task. Our Lord watches you and our Coven. You all will be rewarded for your efforts.

As always, do not discuss these dealings with my sisters.

- Mother L

Gregory,

I understand that you are gaining in power with the blessings of our Shadow Lord. But it is not your place to attempt a soul shift. My sisters and I are tasked with that. Should you and the Coven attempt it without us, there will be dire results.

- Mother J

You are to do NOTHING about the situation with the candy. I am not concerned with some backwater villages. The Protectors conveniently help us distribute our goods. But, more importantly, they are a resource for draconic activity and locations for our search. They MUST remain in place. The Shadow Lord wills it! - Mother L

Mother Love would meet her match when it was discovered by Gideon (Dragon) that she had been secretly operating another newly opened bakery in Gammelgard. Sending heroes her direction (including Vadath, Drang, Oxan, Durian, Tristram, and Delphi) they would infiltrate the bakery (and the hag's lair underneath it).

Demise

The PCs eventually went in and the negotiations began. The Hag offered to leave Isonhound and never return if they promised her safe passage. They kept digging to try to figure out what ELSE she was going to get out of the deal. She wouldn't relent. Vadath ended up going over the table and attacking her. He became cursed for breaking Hospitality. She had a readied action Shadow Vadath appeared in front of him and began fighting him. She Misty Stepped, Drang chased her down and got cursed from braking Hospitality. Got two good hits on her. She awakened her Egg Hunters who attacked him and Shadow Drang appeared and began fighting him. Oxan got into it, got cursed, did a bit of damage to her and the egg hunters. But it was ultimately Tristram who cast Polymorph on her and turned her into a tortoise, put her in a jar of water and watched her drown. Once she was dead she turned to wisps of shadow and dissipated rather than turning whole and breaking the jar.

Mother Joy

Mother Joy's specialty was the "Mother Joy Candy". She was able to infiltrate and get it into the hands and heads of Isonhound via manipulation of the guild known as the The Protectors of the People, a philanthropy group that fought against the rich and gave to the poor. By donating large amounts of delicious Mother Joy candy to the group, the Protectors unknowingly began to send it out across the continent.

When consumed, the candy put people into joyful, addictive crazes, demanding more to reach the same joyful highs they felt the first time, which usually led to death via depression. When killed in this fashion, Mother Joy could claim the joyless soul as an ingredient to be used in future baking rituals.

After one particular delivery, spearheaded by the paladin Arlin, suspicions grew too high, and they realized the candy had supernatural intoxicating qualities. The paladin cleansed the food with his own divine magic, but then helped the PotP on a mission of vengeance against the mothers.

Gideon eventually sent a group of heroes (including Grandmush and Elric) to take out Mother Joy (while simultaneously sending other heroes to dispose of Peace and Love). Flying them to her cookie bakery in Saltport,

This was great for the hag who attempted a jump scare and did her “Shadow” attack. Four shadows popped up and she made her escape. Meanwhile the civilians in the area start to come to Mother’s defense. Party members are using their actions to subdue the civilians thus eating up their action economy.

The party’s paladins closed in on the hag, who pops off another “Shadow” attack. Elric goes down, Grandmush is hurting, civilians are swarming the other party members. Mother Joy disengages and climbs up the side of the building onto the roof and out of sight. She is moments away from Misty Stepping onto the next building and running off the map when Grandmush summons two giant octopi. One of them grapples Mother Joy and jumps off of the roof back into the middle of the paladins. Elric opens up a can of whoop-ass on Mother Joy making her go down for good as well as make the shadows dissipate.

Mother Peace

Mother Peace was the quietest and most mysterious of the coven. But her shyness apparently disappeared in an instant when she hijacked a production of An Evening with the Bard (A One Man Show by Tristram) which was being performed at Tristram's Center for the Living Arts in Seglock. After swarming the stage with shadow energies, Mother Peace attacked the audience, and found herself in a dark battle against heroes of the Greedy Green.

Mother Peace used shadow simulacra to hide her location and cause confusion (and moments of fear when heroes think they are up against the whole coven), but despite her best efforts and her mind melding magics, she was slain on the stage. Popcorn concessions followed for all.

Lair

The Hag's lair was located in a swampy area in Isonhound, where the hag kept and tormented the souls of the innocent. Recently, several children from nearby towns had fallen into comas after eating the hag's enchanted food, and the adventurers’ mission was to free their souls.

Upon entering the swamp, the party began encountering small, wisp-like creatures that emitted the sounds of children playing. Using bags of holding, they captured eight of these souls, but as they ventured deeper, they discovered the bodies of dead adults scattered throughout the swamp.

The party soon faced the lair's guardian, a large, pumpkin-headed creature with flame-filled eyes that held the trapped souls within it. The creature attacked with psychic beams, which, when they missed, raised the dead as dangerous haunts. The battle escalated as more haunts emerged, making the fight progressively more dangerous. After defeating the guardian, the souls were released, but the ones trapped in the bags of holding remained, leaving the adventurers with unresolved consequences.