I signed up for the Secret Jackalope over on the OSR discord server this year, and was paired up with Azaz from RPG Toolbox, who wanted "A village secrets table -- who hates whom, who's sleeping with someone's wife etc". So, below is just that, a table of secrets. And, because they've been (I assume) very good this financial quarter, I've also thrown in rumors. Ho Ho Ha.
Village Secrets and Rumors
- Mrs Thelch once described Mme Aelfwear's honeycomb biscuits as "Fine. Maybe a little dry?" while at a harvest festival, in front of everyone. Madam Aelfwear has sworn a blood oath of revenge.
- There's much speculation behind the arcane symbols that appear in the wheat fields from time to time: from their meaning to their sources. Truth be told, it's just the Gerrenth brothers, youths of 15, sneaking out at night and pressing shapes into the fields.
- Reverend Father Rickbranch, in the light of day, is a devote subject of the local, well loved good aligned deity. By the light of the moon, however, he willingly serves Katheres, the Black Goat with One Thousand Eyes, the Chewer of the Cud That Will Flood the World, Bleater of the Final Song.
- Ichabod Slatewater served in the King's War in his youth. He doesn't speak about his service, or the strange spider idol he brought back and has kept hidden all these years. He doesn't speak about it, but he does speak to it.
- Magrit Saurglem, the elderly midwife who has served the village for decades, remembers each and every one of the townsfolk who were born with tails.
- The Duskhorn family were once a proud witch hunters, who retired after a large and successful local campaign. There were, of course, no witches and the family was just blaming innocent people to buy up the confiscated farmland for cheap.
- Mr and Mrs Coldforge have been the ones leaving baskets of food and supplies on the doorsteps of their less fortunate neighbors at night.
- Mr and Mrs Coldforge have been the ones murdering vagrants on nights of the full moon.
- The Gerrenth brothers were seen stumbling the roads drunk, near the Duskhorn farms, the night Reverend Father Rickbranch is said to have reported terrible nightmares.
- The mines just outside of town are said to be haunted by the ghosts of the miners who's lives were lost deep within the earth after a cave in. This is a lie. One that was started by a local social group, so they could set up a place to hide from their spouses for a bit.
- Douglas Fir, the tavern keeper, has been watering down his ale's for years. The bastard.
- Most of the stray cats in the town disappeared right around the time when the "strange" family moved in. Nothing happened to them, all the cats are fine and safe, and they all finally carried out their long planned relocation to the Dream City of Ur. The timing was just really coincidental.
- Mr. Mathers is sleeping with Mrs. Weathers. And Mr. Weathers. Mrs. Mathers is also sleeping with both of the Weatherses. None of the spouses knows of their own spouses "rendezvous."
- Rumor has it that there's a trove of silver buried in a fake grave within the village cemetery. This is nonsense. It's electrum.
- Some will tell you "the owls are not what they seem." This is false, they are exactly what they seem: haughty assholes with nocturnal divination abilities.
- The crops only grow because the Coldforges remember what Vazell, Goddess of the Bloody Fields demands.
- The town's water supply tastes rather funny, and not for the high sulfur content of the ground as an "expert" suggest. Rather, the BIG STOMPa and his goblins have moved into the town well. The expert knows this, but he's just 3 goblins in a jerkin.
- If you give a special knock on the back door of the Apothecary shop, they'll sell you a recreational tincture. It's brewed from the Cud of Katheres.
- The Duskhorn family, famous witch hunters, have all been witches for several years now. Who have they been hunting? Not witches.
- Most of the recent vagrants lately, have been werewolves, summoned there by Madam Aelfwear.
