Following up on the previous post, here’s a little fleshing out of the village of Pale Waters.

Hearsay, Rumors, and Whatnot (d12)

1. People sacrificed to the lake don’t drown; they’re transformed into aquatic monsters that serve the god that dwells at the bottom of the lake.
2. Kilton Grubb, the outsider the Speaker hired, spends a lot of time in a shed at the outskirts of town. Smoke and weird smells often emanate from it when he’s in there, and it’s locked up when he’s not.
3. At the bottom of the lake, there are ruins of another village, haunted by the restless corpses of the sacrifice victims.
4. The rich lady from out of town is an odd one; she claims to be some kind of artist, but she’s real interested in dead animals.
5. Speaker Etherkin had something to do with her predecessor being chosen as a sacrifice.
6. Kilton Grubb is some kind of warlock – he can conjure up smoke and fire with the wave of his hands.
7. Ashmin Etherkin is not fit to be Speaker, that’s why she hired all those goons to push people around.
8. The woods outside of town aren’t safe anymore; that rich lady says her carriage ran off the road when something spooked the horses.
9. The thing in the lake – I’ve seen it. It’s huge and it’s hungry, and it ain’t a god.
10. Speaker Etherkin and Kilton Grubb are working on a plan to kill the god in the lake and put an end to the sacrifices.
11. Lady Ombrego was travelling to attend a fancy party when her coach broke down. She’d be most distraught if she missed it.
12. It pains me to see my [parent/sibling/child] working for Kilton Grubb and his gang.

What’s available for purchase includes:

• Smoked eel, and lots of it.
• A locally produced liquor called “frog wine.”
• Water-resistant ponchos and waders made from fish leather.
• The rental of a villager’s rowboat or canoe. For an additional fee, the owner can be hired to row it.
• Zevan, Hurkey, and Lesh, three disaffected youths with no desire to end up at the bottom of the lake or be on the Speaker’s payroll.