Umar Witch

The Umar Witch was a legendary witch that plagued the good people of Imnesvale in the Umar Hills, named after her, for over five centuries by 1369 DR.

"It's not wolves, you fool! It's Umar herself, returned to haunt us and steal our children!... I knows plenty more than I wants to, believe me. The murders.. skin missin', bodies disappearin'... it's the very things that happened when Umar ruled these lands, y'see. She's come back."

- Groos the Herder

Description
Umar Witch was believed to had been a powerful witch who commanded fearsome magics.

History
The proprietor of the Umar Inn, Vincenzo, was a lifelong inhabitant of Imnesvale. His family dated back many generations, and stories of the dreaded Umar Witch regularly surfaced through the town's history for over 500 years, some recorded by Vincenzo's ancestors. He claimed that ages before the late 14 century DR, the innkeep's family was there to witness the Umar Witch's grizzly deeds. According to them, Umar was a wicked woman who was only seen when she descended from the hills to snatch a child or a lone shepherd. The Witch then tortured poor souls as the village listened to their cries through the night. The villagers tried to find the elusive Witch but instead either disappeared or found mutilated victims past. However, one day, Umar just disappeared. Since then, she was believed to come back every century or so to claim new victims.

Some years before the, a trio of young apprentice wizards arrived in the village of Imnesvale, tasked with the investigation into the Umar Witch legend by their master. The expedition was led by a female wizard with two men, Joshellus and Michaelus being the rest of the group. The trip passed the village and visited the Umar Inn, where they met Vincenzo and a lippy young stable boy Willet who would later remember the wizard apprentices as being nice people. The trio ventures into the Umar wilderness and eventually got lost while being hounded by some unseen creature every night. Despite the panicking males, the leader tried to convince them that these creatures were just local peasants trying to scare the wizards, while Joshellus was adamant that they caught the Umar Witch's ire. Subsequently, the trios disappeared one after another, not to be seen ever again.

By 1369 DR, the innkeep Vincenzo reportedly found the wizard lass' diary in the woods. Its last entry was written in a panicked feminine script and read: "...sorry to Joshellus's mother. I'm sorry about what happened to Michaelus. There's something out here with us. We thought it to be peasants, but peasants aren't this clever. Joshellus says it's the Witch. I hear her when I sleep. I don't want to sleep. I don't want to sleep. I don't want..." Vincenzo started profiting off the journal, made a number of copies, and sold them to all visitors of the hamlet as the Umar Witch Project Journal. He also never missed an opportunity to retell the local legends of the accursed Witch. Willet, on the other hand, did not believe a word of Vincenzo's stories and was convinced the innkeeper wrote the journal himself.

Later, in 1369 DR, the village of Imnesvale faced strife. Locals became disappearing and were eventually found dead, skinned, and mutilated. Some of the townies, like Groos the Herder, claimed it was the Witch who returned every century to kill, while others blamed a group of peaceful monstrous humanoids led by an oni mage who recently camped out outside of Imnesvale. One of the more notable alleged victims of Umar was local ranger protector Merella, who disappeared after setting out to search for the first victim. The Mayor – Minister Lloyd, hired a band of adventurers to investigate the deaths.

After the disappearances were stopped, a female wizard came down to the village from the hills claiming to be the Umar Witch herself. She threatened the villages with horrible deaths and demanded they leave the land. In reality, she was no legendary monster but an ambitious malicious power-hungry mage who sought to claim the nearby ancient ruined Temple of Amaunator in the northwest forest of the Umar Hills. It was believed the adventurers who aided the village slew the imposter within the ruins.