The Collector - Weaver of flesh

A pile of rags shambles towards you.  A red mass, writhing and blinking as it makes its way forward... Moving not as a human would, but more like many creatures, under one cloak.   A spidery hand stretches out towards you, offering a fresh, shining, human eye.  "For a price", hisses a voice made of rough and disjointed whispers.  You can almost hear the smile of sharp rotten teeth hidden behind the gilded mask

A Collector is a type of witch that is usually encountered as a merchant.  They sell all sorts of strange baubles, and are known for their unusual wares, but their specialty is eyes. 

 Collectors generally gather and sell every variety of eye, and are adept at creating enchantments and curses involving them.  They search for the most beautiful and rare eyes they can find, and children are told to be wary, lest the collector come at night and dig out their eyes with a rusty golden spoon.

Almost all witches used to be humanoid.  When one becomes a witch, they are taught the secret of weaving.  They are said to weave their elaborate cloaks out of thread spun from the skin of the newly dead, mixed with essence from the dream.  Their fabrics often blink and writhe, as if brought back to life in the threads.

These garments make the wearer impervious to a natural death from age or disease, but they continue to visually age under their cloaks, their limbs growing long and deformed, their skin sagging.  Often, what you see before you is not actually one being, but many. Collectors believe that their power is enhanced if they join together, so they will huddle under one cloak, their skin fusing over time, becoming a mass of stretched and deformed bodies.  You can often hear them arguing with themselves, under their robes.  They wear golden masks to give themselves a more human appearance, as what is underneath is now something else.

They stink, as they are never to remove their garment, or they will crumble to dust.

Their eyes have long ago lost sight and rotted from their skulls, so they wear the most beautiful ones that they collect, as their own, switching them out as they see fit.

Many  rumors and fables about witches eating children exist, but it's possible that those are just old wives tales, and perhaps come from a place of fear and discrimination.

It is known though, that collectors love nothing more than a freshly baked sweet from the local town bakery, so keep that in mind when trying to barter/ deal with them.  Some spiced ginger bread will go a long way

Hope you like this one!!  High res downloads below, including a black and white one you can color.  Up next will be a post about some of the things you might obtain from this weird character :) Physical tier items will probably start being sent out more towards the mid/ end of the month.