This was written as an addendum to Dakota Irish’s short module called The King of The Fair.
Entry #1
My parents are leaving for the capital, and the old apothecary is now in my care, I shall do my best to uphold my parents’ work for the town, even if there are still recipes I’m unsure about. Hopefully I can pick up some new recipes from tradesfolk soon enough. I’ll start by taking stock, so I know what I’ll be needing to run the shop smoothly.
Entry #5
These Apple Tree Mushrooms are interesting, while the taste is somewhat bitter on it’s own, it does seem to actually act as a kind of fruity sweetener for the more regular potions. So far it doesn’t seem to hold any remedial effects in the potions, but that might come down to the type of mixing. I shall stride to research this further, whenever I have an excess amount of supplies.
Entry #17
I have received a letter from my mother this day, my father has passed and is being buried in the capital. She says that he spoke of some historical research that he was partaking in relation to Ballydorey and it’s Puck Fair. Supposedly there’s a darker reason to why the town have remained untouched by bandits and raiders for so long. Mother didn’t know where father’s notes were left, she would search through his items in their new home, but urged me to look through some of the older books on the shelves. Thankfully summer is fairly calm when it comes to the need for an apothecary.
Entry #29
I have spoken to some of the village elders, but have mostly been met by ignorance, or even hostility. The old man McCleary told me to stop poking into things, that I had no understanding of, clearly the message was to not research something that wasn’t a problem. Others were more forthcoming, telling me what little they know. The Puck Fair have, or so it seems, always been named that. One suggested it was named after a long-dead king or ruler named Puckard the Bright. I have my doubts to this, as, if knowledge serves me right, Puckard’s rule was several hundred miles from here. I suppose it could have been started by travellers, but I find it unlikely.
Entry #33
Finally a breakthrough! I found my father’s notes, tugged in between a book about calcinator maintenance, and the “Living Ingredients III: Frogs & Snakes”. I’ve had no need to look there, as the calcinator was one of the first books I memorized, and there haven’t been any snakes seen in these parts for the better part of several centuries. Father’s idea seemed to stem in a pact of some sort, with a creature not of this realm. I shall have to seek guidance on such matters. I work more in plants, herbs, and roots than in magic and the tethers between this plane and others. Maybe the Cleric will be able to give me some pointers.
Entry #34
I’ve managed to narrow the likely suspects down, it seems very unlikely that this is the work or contract of a fiend, and I think a celestial would not need to bind good-hearted, faithful citizens. It is most likely a Fey creature, bound to serve the town somehow. I doubt many creatures would accept being bound in service for as long as this one though.
I have spoken with Brighid, who listened intently to my theory. She said that the crypts of the temple holding the dead of the town for generations, get… “lively”, the dead stirs, particular around harvest and the Puck Fair. That can’t be a coincidence. I’ll gather knowledge on the fey creatures, perhaps if I can more precisely determine the specific creature, I can help save the town from a doom of the undead.
Entry #36
The Puck Fair is in a month, and the “King of the Fair” is essential. I have found the creature to likely be a Púca, a shapeshifter of a malicious nature. It seems the yearly sacrifice of the goat, rebinds the Púca to the town’s service, but surely this contract would weaken over time. The thing is, I don’t know where Púca is physically bound, somewhere in town surely, but where? Perhaps Brighid knows, she maintains the crypts and have lived for a while already.
Entry #37
I have constructed cages meant for fey creatures, as well as a brass lantern. If I have configured the lantern correctly, it should be able to serve as homunculi for the shapeshifter, if destroyed in this prison, the Púca SHOULD be destroyed for good. Otherwise it might just seek another host. I just hope my efforts aren’t too little, too late.
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