Where the forest remembers what the faithful called righteous.
M1Mercy Lot 17
Overview
Mercy Lot 17 is a small but notorious clearing in the Riverwood of the Eldeen Reaches, where a massacre from the old lycanthropic purges left no proper graveyard and no peace. Scars in the trees, buried keepsakes, and apparitions that march through dusk make the atrocity visible without turning the place into a field of tombs. The forest is quiet by day, but its paths distort near nightfall. Nylah, a Thranish Silver Flame pilgrim staying in Feathered Rest, seeks companions to help plant Mercywort here.
Cultures
Eldeen woodland custom, shaped by communal stewardship and wary hospitality.
Thranish Silver Flame pilgrimage traditions, carried by visitors seeking penitence and healing.
Places
3 settlements
Small · HamletFeathered RestWaystation and gathering placeA modest forest-edge stop where Nylah is staying and travelers can hire guides or learn local warnings.
Tiny · Homestead clusterNorth Track HomesteadsFood and trail supportA loose cluster of farms and forest dwellings whose residents avoid the glade after sunset.
Tiny · River landingEast LandingLocal trade stopA simple riverside loading place used by gatherers and occasional traders.
How they spread
PatternSettlements are scattered along streams and old tracks, with a few small clusters near reliable crossings. The glade itself is uninhabited and avoided after dusk.
Common kinds
Forest homesteads, Small river landings, Waystations, Scattered shifter camps
Trade routes
A forest track connecting Feathered Rest with nearby homesteads
A shallow-river route used by small boats and rafts
Old logging paths linking gathering sites to local markets
Dangers and hooks
3 threats
Most dangerous · SevereThe Unrepentant CaptainUndead leaderA powerful priestly spirit commands the apparitions and still justifies the massacre.
The Silent MusterModerateUndead haunting
Spectral crusaders gather at dusk and attack those they mistake for enemies or witnesses.
Hollow-ground sinkholesLowEnvironmental hazard
Rain and hidden stream channels open soft pits beneath leaf litter.
Hazards of the land
Spectral crusaders can turn a disagreement into a sudden assault.
Soft banks conceal mud that can trap an unwary traveler.
The central hollow sometimes fills with cold, disorienting mist.
Plot hooks
1
A Vow in the ClearingPilgrimageNylah asks the party to escort her to plant Mercywort and keep the ghosts from interrupting her vow.Starts: Meet Nylah at Feathered Rest before dawn.Reward: A prepared antidote incorporating Mercywort and the gratitude of local wardens.
2
What the Roots KeptRecoveryA shifter family asks the party to recover a carved token from beneath the streambank before the next storm washes it away.Starts: A kin network representative approaches the party in Feathered Rest.Reward: A family heirloom and a trusted local guide.
3
The Captain's BargainNegotiationThe priestly apparition offers safe passage if the party publicly affirms that the massacre was righteous.Starts: The ghosts address the party from the mossy ridge at dusk.Reward: A chance to quiet the haunting without combat and a hidden cache of supplies.
4
Tracks Against the RainInvestigationA fresh set of bootprints appears in the glade, though no living traveler admits to entering it.Starts: A warden reports tracks circling the clearing after a night of heavy rain.Reward: A modest payment and permission to use a secluded forest shelter.
The land
Climate and ground
ClimateTemperate and damp, with mild summers, leaf-heavy autumns, and cold rain that lingers in the glade.
TerrainA small open glade enclosed by old trees, broken ground, and a slow stream, with remnants of a crusader encampment half-swallowed by forest.
A narrow, clear tributary crossing the eastern edge
A rain-fed runnel through the central hollow
A reed-choked pool beneath the western bank
Borders
Dense Riverwood forest to the north
A shallow tributary to the east
Older logging tracks to the south
Low, boggy ground to the west
On the road
The easiest approach follows a faint logging track from Feathered Rest, then turns north at a split cedar.
The eastern stream crossing is shallow in summer but slick and treacherous after rain.
At dusk, familiar paths seem to lead back toward the glade's center.
Landmarks
A line of blackened trees bears old blade and fire scars.
Faint boot-shaped impressions appear in the grass after sunset.
Rusty fragments of armor protrude from exposed roots.
A flat stone bears a worn Silver Flame mark beside shifter-made offerings.
Landforms
A shallow bowl-shaped clearing
Root-laced hummocks along the northern edge
A low streambank undercut by water
A mossy ridge overlooking the glade
Resources
Medicinal moss clings to shaded stones.
Edible mushrooms grow on fallen timber.
Damp, sheltered soil offers a promising place for Nylah to establish Mercywort brought from Thrane.
Power
Rule
GovernmentThe glade has no government; customary stewardship rests with nearby Eldeen communities and their wardens.
SeatNo formal seat lies within the site; nearby concerns are handled at Feathered Rest and by forest wardens.
StabilityThe surrounding communities are mostly steady, but arguments over memory, access, and responsibility flare whenever the hauntings intensify.
Laws
Local custom forbids cutting marked trees or taking remains from the glade.
Visitors must leave hunting snares and fires outside the central clearing.
Wardens may bar entry during dangerous hauntings.
Factions
Riverwood wardensLocal stewardship circle
Influence: Strong along nearby trails and homesteads.The local wardens keep logging and hunting within customary limits and discourage careless visits to the haunted glade.
Influence: Limited and personal; regarded differently by each local community.Some individual Silver Flame faithful visit old sites of wrongdoing to pray, remember the dead, and perform personal acts of penitence. They are not an organized faction or official Church mission.
Shifter kin networksCommunity alliance
Influence: Quiet but persistent among nearby communities.Shifter families preserve the names and stories of those killed in the purge and oppose efforts to erase the crime.
Faiths
The Silver Flame
Influence: Present through pilgrims and old crusader vestiges, but regarded cautiously by nearby shifters.Vigilance against supernatural evil, compassion for the living, and accountability for wrongdoing.
Eldeen druidic traditions
Influence: Common among local wardens and forest-dwelling residents.Balance between the natural world and its communities, with respect for the dead and the land.
People and trade
Who lives here
How manySparse at the glade itself, with scattered homesteads and small communities along nearby forest paths.
Main peoples
Eldeen human woodcutters, herbalists, and wardens
Shifter families of the surrounding Riverwood
Other peoples
Thranish pilgrims, Goblinoid foragers
Languages
Common, Druidic, Goblin
Trade
WealthPoor to modest, with most households relying on seasonal trade and forest resources.
Medicinal herbs, Berries and mushrooms, Carved wooden goods
Imports
Worked iron tools, Salt and lamp oil
Markets
Feathered Rest, Nearby river landings
History and secrets
During the old lycanthropic purges, Silver Flame crusaders massacred shifters gathered in this Riverwood clearing. The forest closed around the site, leaving no orderly graveyard: instead, disturbed earth, scorched trunks, and scattered personal tokens mark where people fell. The crusaders' ghosts persist, led by a priestly commander who still calls the violence righteous. Locals avoid the clearing, while a few pilgrims come to plant Mercywort as an act of penitence and remembrance.
Key events
Old Purges
The clearing massacreSilver Flame crusaders entered the Riverwood during the old lycanthropic purges and killed shifters gathered in the clearing.
After the massacre
The forest takes the deadSurvivors and neighbors concealed bodies and belongings beneath the roots and streambank rather than leaving a marked graveyard.
Generations later
The silent musterThe crusaders' spirits began appearing in ranks at dusk, repeating their patrols and accusations.
Secret 1 · GM only
A shifter-made wooden token lists victims who were deliberately excluded from the crusaders' written account.Found by: A hollow root near the stream gives a faint wooden knock when tapped in the right place.If found: The token's inscription gives the names of several victims and proves that the crusaders knowingly attacked noncombatants.
Secret 2 · GM only
The crusader leader received an order to spare the gathered shifters but chose to ignore it.Found by: The priestly ghost pauses when confronted with a damaged order hidden beneath the flat stone.If found: Showing the order can make the leader hesitate, opening a path to confession or negotiation.
Secret 3 · GM only
The glade responds to acts of honest remembrance more strongly than to exorcism or force.Found by: Mercywort planted beside the stream grows pale flowers when a spirit speaks truthfully.If found: A sincere admission can weaken the hauntings long enough for the dead to be remembered in peace.
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