Topic: Witch's Brew (A Brainstorm/Hook)
I wanted to throw out an idea and bat it around a bit. What sort of adventure would you make of the following hook?
Some time ago, the parson encountered a strange sight whilst he and the sexton traveled home from a grueling night of prayer for the health of the ailing Halloworth child. Their dog-cart almost ran over Mistress Barrowes as she danced naked in the moonlight. Madness and lust filled her eyes as she capered in a most unseemly manner.
Wrapping the portly goodwife in a cloak, the pair returned her to her home and summoned the doctor. This worthy's whispered diagnosis suggested that she had smeared the accurst ointment of the godless heathens on her flesh, and was surely a witch. One accusation led to more, culminating in a trial that saw half a dozen women accused of vile deeds and hanged for the sake of the villagers' souls.
Since that time, vials of mysterious black paste have been discovered in cottages and barns all over the village. Some believe that the witches' familiar spirits seek to avenge their fallen mistresses' deaths by leading other folk astray. Others mutter about dark pacts made by their ancestors and remember the human bones found under the cornerstone of the old town hall when it was rebuilt.