High up in the Grey Mountains, the residents of Bögensee are isolated from the rest of the Reikland, close to the eerie ruins of Castle Drachenfels and the haunted stretches of the Grey Lady Pass. Sorrow and death are constant companions to those that live there.[1a]
Recently, a great River Troll Hag named Grua Gribbleback has taken up residence downstream from the town, and is the latest in a line of monsters to bring tragedy to Bögensee’s inhabitants. As well as snatching the occasional hunter or trader for food, she is engaged in an eldritch ritual, the aim of which only she understands.[1a]
Every day, she weaves body parts, pond slime, and river weeds into a strange cat’s cradle, which she stretches across the bed of the River Bögen, close to its source by the lake of Bögensee. What she hopes to achieve is a mystery, but the winds of magic are slowing through the area, stagnating into Dhar. The effects are subtle, so far. There are perhaps a few more accidents, a few more deaths, more mutation and disease. But Grua’s net grows each day, and with it the festering dark magic.[1a]