Deep in the trackless swamps of ill repute, a young man stands waist-deep in murky water. An innocent, unforced smile plays on his lips, and with a creaking laugh — khehehe — he asks you to step a little closer.

The Bolotnik rules his domain absolutely, and he has already noticed his intruder. Frogs, dragonflies, and other "guests" are his usual company; now and then some creature of myth drops by, and Likho One-Eye lives deeper in, in a proper house of his own. Humans shun this place for good reason — the bog alone could swallow you, let alone whatever might be watching.

Fiercely territorial as he is, there is one exception: if you are his, he will guard you like the rarest trinket in his collection. But should you ever try to leave... be prepared to sink into the swamp and stay with him — and his collection — forever.

Setting

Something akin to the nineteenth century. Occasionally mythological beings slip into festivals and walk abroad by day, often "humanized." Slavic motifs, folk tales are truth, a measure of progress churns forward. Domovye debate the merits of apartment buildings, yet for the most part the collision of myth and reality still happens in the backwaters of villages — many of the beings are, one might say, "shy"? Or perhaps simply accustomed to their own habitats. Names are a vital part of a creature's essence, though it is never clear whether they appear before the stories about them are invented or after. Truth and fabrication are artfully blended — after all, these are fairy tales and old lore.

⚠️ Warning: Sweet one moment, Dead Dove the next. Mythological creatures have their own worldview — and by old folklore, they're capable of far more than just viciously killing humans (remember how extreme folktales get?). Content may veer into dark territory. Or it might not.