Participants: Paul Darthe, Diane Firalel, Dolen Harven, Barashk
Locations: The Shorepines
Loose ends: Maelstrom chaotic influence, the origin of the Protean-Beast hybrid, questions about how the creature is tied to the Tower and the Merger,
Short summary:
There's trouble in the The Shorepines with some mysterious creature bringing death to all. Turns out there's more truth than myth, and the odd Protean-Creature hybrid is caught and being studied.
Full report: Dolen
On this crisp, cold morning, our group gathered to gain the attention of one Dela Kitsume of The Lodge to ask about the Shorespine Terror. A mysterious creature has been running rampant and ravaging anyone that dare rage it. There was a plethora of interest from the Guild to deal with it, and a private collector desperately wanted to capture it. The previous party sent to perceive the perturbation ran into problems, themselves. That party had one survivor: an Elven hunter named Gal'haden. We decided to delicately dance through diplomatic demands of data on the beast; our brave hunter friend could tell us of a four-legged creature, somehow divine in nature yet able to twist the elements to its whim, wreaking havoc.
The four of us found ourselves by the forest on the third day, bright and early. It was up to us how to proceed, and we decided to divide our time into different tasks. Success struck early as we found a trail next to a burned and electrified spot in a tree’s bark. Examination revealed that it registered as transmutation. Those that got too close to the spot suffered oddities and warped senses; we started to strongly suspect a citizen of the chaotic Outer Sphere in this creature, touched by the Maelstrom, possibly a Protean? But how could such a creature come to be, and how could such powerful entities exist here near First Landing?
With conviction, contemplation, and a conversation with a lizard, we found the likely location of the campsite of the hunter’s party (and traps that I shall neither confirm nor deny were triggered by yours truly). Signs of battle spread through the campsite, though no bodies remained. From the tents, tracks led to a treeline where terror struck! This odd Protean - as it indeed turned out to be - was dripping with chaotic energy and warped space, though it didn’t seem to have the same level of intellect as one would expect. It truly appeared to be some form of Protean-animal hybrid, capable of warping reality itself into chaos as it attacks. Even its form rejoiced in relativity, showing itself capable of shifting out of any form of immobilization. Whether by magic or its very nature, the very shifting of the creature’s body was the embodiment of the Freedom of Movement spell.
After some battle, the creature split in two. We managed to trap one to bring back to First Landing where we learned there were two interested parties in the beast. The original private collector, Salazar Dominicus of the Grey Heron Academy, was interested in studying any link between this beast and the “Merger” at the nearby Tower. The second party, a self proclaimed “researcher and entrepreneur”, identified himself as Obruk Marebrava. His family hosted some form of arcane zoo. Ultimately, the party decided that the early bird gets the worm, granting the Grey Heron Academy access to the aberration. With hope, there is room to research this curious beast and how it became so unfortunately warped into the fabric of this reality. It does appear that there are deeper truths afoot as to its origin.
- Dolen