12.14.8 The Festering Bog

The village of Sarh'ael Glade stood for ages within the confines of the 
swamps south of the Barren Wastelands. Formed by a tribe of Sylayan lost
from their northern homes, the simple community of trackers and hunters 
quickly became a lively village, one that benefitted from Stavenn-bound 
merchants as much as they did the natural game that inhabited both the  
depths of the swamp nearby and the plain forest that surrounded it.     
Renowned amongst plain villages for their expertly trained pack dogs,   
they survived contently for decades, nestled within their isolated home.

One day, a recluse necromancer from the nearby city of Stavenn stumbled 
upon their home, weary and wounded from the stealthy marauders that     
tracked the wastelands. Startled at his ability to affect life and      
death, as well as awed, the village began to dabble in the darker arts, 
learning what they could of the necromancer before he perished. One     
specific pupil, the youngest daughter of the village's elder, was       
particularly adept, surpassing the necromancer and amassing great power 
in a short time. The villagers became frightened at her mastery over the
death arts, and in their fear, barricaded her in a westward cave, her   
father laying the last stone that sealed the entrance. For nearly a     
decade they went uninterrupted, until the woman burst forth from her    
prison, warped and aged from the rigors of her mastery and filled with  
hatred at what her kin had done. Magickally sealing off the village and 
the surrounding bog, she unleashed her wrath upon her former village    
behind closed doors, continuing her studies and pursuing higher power at
the cost of her former family.                                          

It was only in modern times that the elder son of the village elder,    
along with his father, managed to escape her wrath, even momentarily.   
Sacrificing his life, the eldest son released the seal on the village,  
in a desperate attempt to seek help from the outside world. Gathering   
his strength but unable to pass the hag's crafts, the elder Ulriead     
formed a camp on the outskirts, seeking aid from any who would hear his 
pleas. The former village stands amidst a warped and festering bog,     
filled with the proclaimed hag's experiments, both those successful and 
those that failed. Only those brave enough to step into her workings    
ever know to what extent her mastery extends, and few live to tell the  
tale.