TEXT: 1
  Rafael Beltrame
  The Forest´s Shadow
  for Sword & Wizardry Continual Light
  
  2
  Introduction
  O
  n a rainy night, the group receives a cry for help from a 
  child, who has lost his little sister in the forest. Everything 
  indicates that an old witch must have kidnapped the little 
  one, but maybe things are not as simple as they seem.
  “The Forest’s Shadow” is a very short adventure made by 
  Moostache for 2013 Halloween. It can be used as a “one shot” 
  or as a hook for something bigger. Created for low level charac-
  ters, this adventure is more fun if the Referee creates a mood of 
  suspense. We suggest that you should limit the off-game con-
  versation to a minimum and maybe dim the lights. The Forest’s 
  Shadow, on the other hand, can be used to introduce various 
  fantasy elements from our common knowledge. Were the broth-
  ers Hansel and Gretel? Is the witch, Baba Yaga? What about the 
  shadow, perhaps Peter Pan or the Slender Man?).
  The Adventure
  T
  he adventure takes place in the community of Fewsteps, a 
  tiny village in a forest that was originally built to house a fam-
  ily of lumberjacks hired by a duke, who aimed to expand his 
  fleet. Fewsteps, as the name suggests, is a small place, extreme-
  ly dependent on third-party production. Thus, locals constantly 
  travel to neighboring villages for food, barter or simple oppor-
  tunities. The problem begins when the adventurers are resting 
  in the local tavern, a long, narrow house, built so that only the 
  tavern keeper and two helpers are inside. A horizontal slit allows 
  them to serve customers, who are seated outside, protected by 
  a tent that covers from the sun and rain.
  Small logs are positioned like benches and all dishes served are 
  composed of stuffed breads, soups or pieces of meat in small 
  wooden sticks. Drinks range from fruit juice to beer. Tired from 
  their journey, sheltered from the rain and lining their empty stom-
  achs, the group at first has no reason to leave the place. Thun-
  der draws everyone’s attention to the skies, causing uncertainty 
  whether the village among trees would be the best place to hide 
  from a storm. Suddenly, between lightning and thunder, a child 
  appears in front of the group. Bleeding, with several thin cuts 
  along his arms and face, the child does not look more than 10 
  years old, and is in panic.
  
  3
  As soon as they can calm him down, he babbles something about 
  how “The witch has returned.” At this point, one of the atten-
  dants of the tavern drops a glass on the floor, and goes to the 
  group to hear the story better. With eyes wide open, he begins to 
  question the child, who seems even more frightened now by the 
  man’s aggressive questioning. 
  Regardless of whether the group pushes the attendant away or 
  not, the child tells them that he was playing with his little sister 
  and she has been captured by a witch in the woods. He describes 
  her as an old woman, her face disfigured and as marked as an old 
  tree. He finally indicates the trail he followed and asks the group 
  for help. 
  In the Past ... 
  When the woodcutters from Fewsteps began to consume the for-
  est six of years ago, something strange happened. Many of the 
  employees gave up, claiming that the trees whispered in their 
  ears, or that the plants made strange movements. One day a 
  lumberjack disappeared and a search party was set up to look 
  for the missing worker. They entered dark and strange regions 
  of the forest, until they found a hut. No one is sure about what 
  happened next, but some say the group set fire to the cabin, 
  which burned for three consecutive days. From that date no one 
  approaches the “black area” of the forest.
  The child does not have any more information that can help, but 
  adults can give the location of the black area. They will refuse at 
  all costs to join them, fearing some kind of witch’s revenge.
  The Trail 
  T
  he trail follows quietly for a while, where suddenly the trees 
  begin to look fire damaged. However, their treetop are full, 
  but the leaves are grayish and the trunk has strange bluish 
  veins, like fat stretch marks. The earth is marked with coarse salt, 
  scattered on the floor, drawing a semicircle delimiting where the 
  black area begins. 
  A few dozen of meters after entering, the adventurers note that 
  the trail crisscross between dead trees, toward a strange hut. The 
  
  4
  sound of an infantile cry seems to call the group, but in fact, it 
  is a Deadly Vine that is emulating the sound of the girl, trying to 
  attract the characters. She is entwined in the trees, next to the 
  witch’s hut. 
  Deadly Vine 
  (minor)
  AC: 6[13] HD: 3 Attack: +3, Whip (1d6-1) Move: 1
  This evil vine can mimic any sound it hears. Also, it can only be 
  damaged by sharp weapons (swords, spears, axes, etc).
  Those who try to advance through the trees will have a lot of 
  work to cross them: as soon as they start the journey along this 
  route, the forest closes as if they were guards blocking the pas-
  sage. If they try to advance with fire, the forest will retract, allow-
  ing the passage with a strange irregular sharp sound. Either way, 
  it is possible that the group gets lost and comes out of the black 
  area (60% chance). The witch’s hut is small and baleful, with no 
  windows, radiating heat even though it is not warm to the touch. 
  Dried leaves cover the entire floor, varying in color between or-
  ange and red. Any character who tries to enter through the front 
  door without looking for finding traps will step into a bear trap 
  and must make a Saving Thrown. Being successful, you will re-
  ceive 2d6 + 5 points of damage, and if  not, will have his foot 
  ripped off.
   
  The Referee shall apply the penalties he deems necessary, includ-
  ing reduction of movement, Dexterity, etc. Regardless of whether 
  they passed the test or not, at this point the Referee should ask 
  for a Wisdom test for all players: those who succeed will notice 
  a tall, thin shadow in the trees at a glance. If no player passes, 
  maintain the atmosphere that they are missing out on some im-
  portant information, saying something like “you think you saw 
  something moving through the trees, even if you did not hear any 
  sound. It is more of an uncomfortable impression of observation 
  than something palpable “(in fact, this can be said even if they 
  pass: what is important is the atmosphere). Any player who tries 
  listening for some noise from inside the house will hear a low, 
  monotonous chuckle.
  Inside, the witch laughs in a corner of the hut, curled up like a 
  puppy, and exuding a terrible ferrous odor. Her black robes are 
  
  5
  soaked, and her semi-toothed maw is stained with blood. She 
  does not seem to give attention to the group, laughing in a hallu-
  cinated state, with a empty and haunted look. If forced to speak, 
  she will just say “so tall ... so tall ... the darkness took the little 
  one ... before I finished ...” She offers no resistance unless she 
  is hurt. In this case, she will give a loud, shrill scream, and the 
  house will begin to rise with artificial legs, and cast the characters 
  out as if excreting them through a trapdoor. In the center of the 
  house, a mystical circle was drawn on the floor, and a blurred 
  mark is noted interrupting the drawing. Any magic-user or cler-
  ic can identify as a circle of invocation and imprisonment, and 
  when broken, makes the invoker prey to his invocation. On the 
  floor, beyond the circle, there are dull candles and some dirty, 
  illegible papers. One seems to be a prayer to a “slender demon, 
  the shadow of human perversion.”
  The group does not find the girl, and even if they takes the witch 
  to the village, she will not regain sanity. Her fate is in the hands 
  of the citizens who fear her, and the heroes will receive no more 
  than a pat on the shoulder. At the end of the day, as they leave 
  the village, they learn from a passerby that the boy who had 
  asked for help disappeared at dawn. It is said that a shadow has 
  kidnapped him at night, and the mothers are terrified that it will 
  come back to fetch their children. Will the group investigate? And 
  what would this shadow be? A living dead, a demon, or some-
  thing beyond that?
  
  6
  Credits
  text by Rafael Beltrame
  layout by Aislan Adi G. de Borba
  special thanks to Jonathan Hunt
  
  7
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