From The Everwinking Eye: Treasures of the Vast, Part One by Ed Greenwood (Polyhedron #88, October 1993) as revised in The City of Ravens Bluff:
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This small village gets its name from the tree-cloaked valley where Feldar's Trail (from Fallentree to Mossbridges) crosses the Hlintar Ride. Dark Hollow has always had a fey, dangerous reputation across the Vast. Folk see it as a place where faerie dragons frolic, brownies and other woodland beings play pranks on intruders, and many crazy would-be wizards dwell in little ramshackle cabins in the woods and try to devise spells that will allow them to rule the Realms - spells whose experimentations often prove disastrous for anyone nearby.
In such a place, monetary treasure is paltry: wizards never have enough coin for the very expensive business of working magic and are often reduced to selling potions in order to put bread (and a little cheese) on the table. Some merchants from Ravens Bluff and Hlintar do a brisk business in selling these hedge-wizards spell components and fragments of artifacts or broken magic items, buying up potions in return for their trouble. Adventurers often find this a lucrative trade but a dangerous one: thieves are always alert for such valuable loot-so much so that guarding a traveling "magic merchant" is a steady job for some adventurers in the Vast.
More than one thieving band has found Dark Hollow's reputation to be a convenient cover for stashing loot, choosing a wizard's woodpile or compost heap to bury a pot or well-oiled sack of coins. There's just one problem: recovering it. That kitten playing on the woodpile may very well be a familiar who guards its master's property diligently (including the stash, once it's been put in the woodpile). A familiar might also report the "donation" to its master moments after the thief has left, so the wizard will have long since spent the coins before the thief returns for them.
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From Quatlebar by Gary Labrecque (1999) [ Much of the below information is liberally paraphrased and quoted.]:
Dark Hollow has an inn known as the Sunflower Inn and a single temple dedicated to Chauntea, Mielikki, and Silvanus. Narrow, overgrown trails lead from the village into the forest, but most residents rarely enter the woods. Only a few scattered farms are nearby.
The Sunflower Inn
Dark Hollow boasts a single, two-story inn which sits at the crossing of the Mosstree Trail and Lion's Walk. Stables are available behind the establishment. A watering hole for locals and a stop-over for the infrequent traveler, the Sunflower Inn is owned and run by a pair of rotund halflings, Sidney and Muriel Goodfellow. The food is good and portions are large. Ale and mead are home-brewed, yet there is no wine on the menu.
The inn's main room is rectangular with eight round tables scattered throughout. Alicia, the adopted daughter of Sidney and Muriel, serves as a waitress. A long wooden bar with a dozen stools stands against the back wall and is tended by Sidney. To the left of the entrance, an open wooden stairwell leads to the rooms upstairs. Eight rooms are available for rent, each containing two twin beds and having a lock on the door. A local boy, Bill, works within the tables behind the inn.
Sidney Goodfellow, Proprietor of the Sunflower Inn, halfm F6: Int Average; AL NG; AC 6 (Dexterity); MV 6; HD 6; hp 36; THACO 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (short sword); SA none; SD none; MR nil; SZ S (3' tall); ML 12.
Sidney is a former adventurer who retired and married his childhood sweetheart. In time, they moved to Dark Hollow and opened the Sunflower Inn. He still feels camaraderie with adventurers although he realizes that not all of them are scrupulous. He is a good host, but an overly protective father.
Muriel Goodfellow, Hostess at the Sunflower Inn, Sidney's wife, halff F1: Int Average; AL NG; AC 6 (Dexterity); MV 6; HD 1; hp 4; THACO 20; #AT 1; Dmg 1d3 (butcher knife); SA none; SD none; MR nil; SZ S (2 1/2' tall); ML 10.
Muriel is a good hostess but she does not approve of adventurers or her husband's talk of his adventuring days. She is glad that he got some sense into him and gave up that life before he was killed. Muriel disapproves of Alicia's admiration of those types and keeps a careful eye on her at all times.
Alicia Goodfellow, Waitress at the Sunflower Inn, Sidney and Muriel’s adopted daughter, hef F0: Int Average; AL NG; AC 6 (Dexterity); MV 6; hp 3; THACO 20; #AT 1; Dmg unarmed attacks only; SA none; SD none; MR nil; SZ S (5' tall); ML 8.
Muriel and Sidney found Alicia as a baby on their doorstep. Unable to find her parents, they adopted her and raised her as their own daughter. Since the age of fourteen, she has worked as a waitress at the inn; she is now eighteen.
Alicia has grown up hearing her father's stories of his adventures. Although she has never met an adventurer, she is in awe of them. While she can be playfully flirtatious with very charismatic adventurers, her father keeps an ever-watchful eye on her.
Bill, the Stable Boy, hm F0: Int Average; AL NG; AC 10; MV 12; hp 2; THACO 20; #AT 1; Dmg unarmed attacks only; SA none; SD none; MR nil; SZ M (5' tall); ML 9.
Bill is rather shy, and only answers questions asked of him. He is a hard worker and never causes any troubles. He likes horses and feels more comfortable around them than he does people.
| Sunflower Inn Menu |
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| Roasts | Vegetables |
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| Roast Rabbit | 5sp | Carrots | 6cp |
| Roast Boar | 8sp | Potatoes | 3cp |
| Roast Turkey | 5sp | Squash | 4cp |
| Roast Venison | 6sp |
| Soups | Stews |
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| Rabbit Soup | 3cp | Rabbit Stew | 4sp |
| Boar Soup | 5cp | Boar Stew | 6sp |
| Turkey Soup | 4cp | Turkey Stew | 5sp |
| Venison Soup | 4cp | Venison Stew | 5sp |
| Mushroom Soup | 4cp | Potato Stew | 4sp |
| Potato Soup | 3cp | Vegetable Stew | 3sp |
| Vegetable Soup | 2cp |
| Misc. | Drinks |
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| Bread | 5cp/loaf | Ale | 3cp/tankard; 2sp/pitcher |
| Room (meals not included) | 5sp/night; 3gp/week | Mead | 3cp/tankard; 2sp/pitcher |
| Stabling and grain of horses | 5sp/day | Tea | 5cp/pot |
The Village Shrine
The only temple within the village, this shrine is found just down the street from the Sunflower Inn. Ample gardens thrive behind this hexagonal, one-story structure. The interior of the wooden building is sparse. Within the main chamber, the side walls are painted with murals depicting scenes amongst nature. A few rows of simple wooden benches face the rear. The chamber has open arches leading to the exterior gardens from the rear. Before the three arches, a statue of the venerated deities is found:
- Chauntea, depicted as a middle-aged woman with long hair wearing long robes. Leaves, vines, and flowers are entwined through her hair and about her body. This statue is found before the center archway.
- Mielikki is shown on the left as a young woman in leather armor.
- Silvanus is found to the right, carved as a long-limbed young man. He wears scale armor, the scales of which are shaped like oak leaves.
The shrine is maintained by Clarence Evergreen, a druid of Chauntea. When encountering a priest of the one of the three venerated deities visiting Dark Hollow, he welcomes the priest to sleep within the gardens behind the temple.
Clarence Evergreen, hem D6 of Chauntea: Int Average; AL N; AC 6 (Dexterity); MV 12; HD 6; hp 32; THACO 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6/1d6 (staff); SA none; SD none; MR nil; SZ M (5' tall); ML 11.
Clarence is fairly new to his position as the sole priest at the shrine being there for about a year. He is eager to talk to anyone who comes in and readily welcomes other priests of related religions (Lathander, Eldath, Lurue, Shialla, etc.) in addition to the deities represented at the shrine.
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