Caliginous Trods

The Caliginous Trods is an Outpost within the Hedge.

Overview
This is not one outpost, but a series of them — one might be a small stone house concealed under a hill, another might consist of a pile of ruined glass and thatch held up by little more than a handful of half-rotted beams. The real outposts, though, lie behind the surface,  hidden  away  from  the  known  trods  and  pathways. These are the Caliginous Trods, named as such because no matter the time of day, they are always immersed in dim evening shades and saturated with coils of swiftly-moving mist. The trods are secret, and difficult to find when looking for them (though those who “keep” the trods know the ways in and out).

They’re used primarily to help changelings escape from Arcadia — the journey back when one has fled her durance is no easy trip, and many get taken by hobs or reclaimed by desperate Keepers. The Caliginous Trods represent a safe haven and pathway, manned by a few old changelings and several sympathetic hobs. The roads are not universallysafe, of course — the Hedge has its many dangers, from sinking pits to lashing vines — but for the most part it seems to be a route that the Keepers have yet to find. The watchers of these hidden byways  will  do  anything  to  keep  it  that  way. One such watcher, a blue-furred Lost with deep black eyes and a pair of massive stag’s antlers, has been a vigilant guardian of the paths for as long as any can remember. He speaks not at all, but communicates in hand gestures to help fleeing changelings use the trods.


 * Finding these trods without help is difficult — extended Wits + Investigation roll, with a –5 dice pool; each roll is equal to one 24-hour period of searching, and 12 total successes must be achieved. (Alternately, those who know the trods already can always find the secret walking trails in and out of them.) Those who help man these trods — i.e., characters who perhaps walk the trods with escaping changelings to keep them safe and at least a little bit sane — can stabilize their own Clarity for a time (the next roll to check for degeneration gains +2 dice). In addition, those who help for a protracted period of time (shepherding a new motley of changelings back to the world) are able to buy a new dot of Wyrd at a reduced cost (new dots x 7).