The Sold Ones

The Sold Ones are Fair Folk corrupted by the Locust. The Fair Folk are the Other most closely connected to humans and most like humans in temperament. And as a result, they are the most likely to be captured and corrupted by the Hungry Empire. 

Gods are most aligned to the Locust King and the Hungry Empire already, and require little cajoling to work with the False King. But the demons, the Fair Folk, are very human in their outlook and have worked closely with the Free Tribes since the days of the Painted Labyrinth. The Fair Folk prefer the Freepath inhabitants, and they live according to the Song of Seven if left to their devices. But their connection to and affinity for humanity is a weakness that the Locust King is able to use. Their affinity is what allowed the Locust King to cage the Court of the Eternal Summer. Their affinity is what renders weaker Fair Folk to the infection of the Wasteland as the Hungry Empire spreads across the depths and coats the surface of the shallows like an oil slick. 

The Sold Ones are tragic figures, twisted by their empathy and connection to the very people who have betrayed them. But they are nonetheless dangerous to Freepath tribal humans and Oilcloth Rebels alike. The Witches have had limited success if cleansing the Sold Ones of their corruption, but such successes are inconsistent and rare. Experienced Psychonauts will generally council rookies to avoid the Sold Ones and neither oppose them nor attempt to heal them. 

The Oxen Ogre

(A Corrupted Sheedr)

The plow giver, the Oxen Ogre sold the plow to early cities. Now the Ogre sells magic seeds (often beans) that produce huge bountiful crops. The seeds come with a price however, the field will be barren for years after and those who eat from the magically produced harvest will be rendered weak of infants for weeks after they cease eating from the harvest and will crave the magically created food over other foods. 

The Crimson Cap

(A Corrupted Faidr)

A Slave taker who hunts for slaves for the Hungry Empire, buying temporary freedom for itself by marking victims as slaves. The Crimson Cap or Red Cap doesn’t capture anything himself, but instead throws powdered concoction at his enemies that bleaches hair and icy translucent white. Once marked in this way, a being can be tracked without fail by any being allied with the Locust and will be instantly aware of the marked individual. In addition, a marked individual will be unable to disobey a direct command given by an ally of the Locust. Shaving once’s head will remove the effect, but will also render the being unable to use High Magick until a sacred ritual has been performed.

The Wheat Goblin

(A Corrupted Gobn) 

A small yellow goblin with a beard of wheat stalks and huge long floppy ears that look like leaves on a stalk of wheat. It can shapeshift but will always have a long braided beard or braided hair and it will always have it’s ears. It tries to sell or offer freely wheat cakes that, if eaten, will render the victim unable to survive on anything but the wheat cakes or (just barely alive) on normal wheat products. Easy to fight and kill, they are not warriors, but the wheat cakes will give temporary strength and speed and improved damage resistance, and the Goblin generally keeps several addicts as bodyguards.

But the wheat cakes will give temporary strength and speed to the Wheat Goblin itself and others who eat it. Foolish warriors will occasionally become willingly addicted to the wheat cakes. 

The Rice Spriggan

(A Corrupted Bogn)

An amorphous Bogn that lives in any stagnant water, but especially loves rice padi water. It can form a body out of the muck and vegetation and fish bones in it’s home to fight if it needs or wants to do so. However, it’s preference is to use fish teeth and bones to cut curse sigils onto the exposed feet and ankles of people who tread in the padi water. The sigils render the victim week against cholera and malaria and Typhus spirits (the Sickly Ones) that will attack the victim every night for weeks (depending on the strength drawn for the curse and the strength drawn for the spirit itself). A Rice Spriggan can only be destroyed by draining it’s watery home or purifying the water. 

An afflicted individual can be cleansed of the Sigils (though not the damage already done by the Sickly Ones), through a mystic brew composed primarily of Cauliflower chopped into a false Rice. This False Rice is also a staple food among many Freepath Tribes.