The Herb Witch of Mooshalden – Book 1: Winter · The Twelve Nights

Your great-aunt Eulalia, the herb witch of Mooshalden, has vanished into the Fen – and left you her crooked herb house. You arrive on the last sleigh of winter. The key is under the Moss Stone, a rust-red tomcat named Zinnober is already waiting on the threshold, and on the table lies Eulalia's first letter. She asks you for one thing: put a candle in the window for twelve nights. And do not open the door without a handle. Over twelve winter evenings you get to know the Village and its animal residents, gather magical herbs like Moonmint and Frost Clover in the Misty Wood, brew small potions and slowly uncover Eulalia's secret. Along the way you write your very own Witch's Journal. There is no losing and there are no wrong answers. Just a candle, a deck of cards and your own words. What you need a pen one six-sided die (d6) a standard deck of 52 playing cards without jokers – or the printable Herb Deck included in the book (thin card recommended) a printer and paper How an evening works Each evening takes about 20–40 minutes and follows five steps: Open the night. Read the text of the night and its prompt. Roll. The die sets the weather and mood of the evening – and sometimes brings a gift. Draw a card. The suit shows where the evening leads you: ♥ the Village, ♦ House & Garden, ♣ the Misty Wood, ♠ the Secret. The value picks what happens there. Write. Answer the prompt and the card's question in your journal, as briefly or as fully as you like. Harvest and brew. Mark hearts, herbs and spaces on the Secret Clock on your Herb Pouch Sheet – and brew a potion when both of its herbs are in your pouch. Play one night per evening, twelve evenings in all. How your story ends depends on what you gathered along the way – there are three different endings. At the end you keep your Witch's Journal and a certificate with your twelve words of the new year. No year is printed, so you can return to Mooshalden every winter. Who you'll meet Zinnober – Eulalia's tomcat, now your companion. Rust-red, one ear folded, a green scarf nobody admits to having tied. He gives advice, but never when you ask for it. Bonifaz the badger, miller · Cordula the hedgehog, candlemaker · Sibylla the owl, chronicler in the chapel tower · Malwine the vixen, baker and mother of three fox cubs · Gangolf the beaver, innkeeper of the Driftwood Inn · Tassilo the snow hare, messenger and snow runner · Ermelinde the ermine, seamstress · Violetta the magpie, peddler at the Saturday market · Celestin the dormouse, storyteller What's inside 72 pages , as two PDFs: A4 and US Letter twelve nights, each with a chapter picture, a prompt and a journal page all 52 cards in four card tables, plus a printable Herb Deck with its own illustrated backs the Herb Book : twelve magical herbs to find and fill in, and six potions to brew the Herb Pouch Sheet with the Secret Clock and the hearts of the villagers Eulalia's letters to cut out and open at the right moment Fog Nights, the finale and three different endings a village map, in color and as a page to color in a certificate for your twelve words of the new year Light pages: only the cover and the chapter openings carry large pictures. Fantasy, not herbal lore All herbs and potions in this book are invented and exist only in Mooshalden. They are magic within the game – for houses, paths, lights and letters. Nothing here is meant to be eaten, drunk or put on skin. Try it first The first three nights are available as a free sampler (22 pages, A4 + US Letter) – download it below this page or from its own page: https://levando.itch.io/herb-witch-of-mooshalden-free-sampler AI notice The illustrations were generated with AI; the text was written with AI assistance. Every picture and every page was then selected, edited and typeset by us. The rules were tested in 1,000 simulated games, the English text was independently checked, and the whole book was read and approved by the publisher. The fonts are under the SIL Open Font License; the ornaments and icons are our own. Publisher Levando GmbH · Vorderer Aischbach 27 · 72275 Alpirsbach · Germany · info@levando.gmbh For personal use. You may print the pages for yourself as often as you like – for example new journal pages and Herb Pouch Sheets for your next winter. Sharing the files, reselling them or publishing them – even in part – is not permitted.