Issue Date: October 16th | Location Issued to: Outpost 2319
The Crimson Crow Courier:
Marshfield Assailed by Lizard Folk -
Chronicled by Tobias Wren
Just as the Towers have been dealt a heavy blow in Baron’s Well, the city of Marshfield continues to churn out another series of mysteries and dangers for the people living there. In the dead of night, a powerful magic began to creep its way into the city from the swamps, as an army of lizard men brought with them a powerful artifact that permeated an oppressive fog. This fog was said to be so potent that those who approached it would start to drown when breathing it in. Even those who weren’t affected by the moisture were burdened with an oppressive weight that made movement severely difficult. Mayor Sullivan, a former adventurer and alchemist, worked with other adventurers to take back the city, using an alchemical sun of some sort to pull the moisture through the air. Several groups of adventurers situated themselves on various sides of the city, then slowly waded their way through an onslaught of stone lizard men. One group finally found themselves at the epicenter of the fog, the northern tavern. Inside, they battled a powerful elemental of some sort, and managed to crank out a victory, while those outside managed to hold off the lizard folk armies. After felling the beast, an orb was recovered from the body, which held a corrupted spirit within. A Holvaldi adventurer named Kyn was the only one present at the scene who appeared unaffected by the orb’s spiritual corruption, and thus elected to hold the orb until its mysteries could be unraveled.
The mist cleared, and the adventurers received payment and lodging for the next few days. But those who stayed soon learned that the job was far from done. With chanting in the surrounding area, hordes of corrupted animals attacking people on site, and strange elemental afflictions affecting those who’d been in town long enough, the race to purify the orb was on. One adventuring company had managed to find out that a former druid in the area appeared to be responsible for spreading the corruption. News that unsettled the new druid. As another group of adventurers managed to track and claim the feathers of a rainbow bird without taking the rare specimen’s life, they were able to use the alchemical components and conduct a ritual to cast the shadow into another world. But they didn’t have much time to loose in returning the orb to it’s rightful place. The lizard folk had returned in mass to reclaim it and finish what they had started. But the adventurers once again managed to bait them into the inn, and held them long enough for the druid to sneak out the back. Whether the new druid was successful or not, we do not know. But as things had appeared to calm down in the morning after, we could only hope that the blood shed in Marshfield may have ceased long enough for its citizens to get back on their feet.
Alleged Snallygaster sightings in Hawkfall Ridges spike -
Chronicled by Bartholomew Kingston
The rugged hills of Hawkfall have always held superstitions and local folklore close to their heart. But many of the outlandish creatures in hawkfall lore have long been speculated to exist only within the colorful imaginations of the locals who live in the territory. However lately, something has moved into the area, and has been churning up a bit of a body count. Many have claimed to see an alien silhouette zip through the night skies. Cattle appear in the fields with broken legs, strangulated necks, and partially chewed entrails spewing out, as if something started to feed on them, only to loose interest halfway through.
The hill folk were quick to put the blame on a fantastical terror known as “The Snallygaster”. But local warden, Garry Thumnell, insists that it’s something a little more close to the mundane than that. “I think people just want an excuse for things to be bigger than they are.” Remarks Mr. Thumnell. “Trolls are common enough in these parts that people have grown complacent with them. So when Trolls get serious and people go missing, admitting it was something they had always thought they were prepared to face is about the same as taking responsibility. People don’t want to blame themselves in times of grief or panic. So they point to the heavens and yell at snallygasters and jabberwocks. I suppose it’s just easier for them that way.”
But a local trapper, Flint Ferguson, disagrees. He claims; “Seen enough trolls to have names for them based on footprints. But those claw marks left on that cow in Findel Farm? That was something way too big to be even a troll. The cow was strangled, lifted off the ground, and dropped. That’s how its legs were broken. Trolls are occasionally pretty cunning, but they aren’t capable of that. We don’t have any wyverns or the lick nesting in the area either. Only one thing has ever been in the area that strangulates and drops its prey like that without leaving footprints of any kind. It can ONLY be the Snallygaster.”
The local bailiff of Northingham has commissioned a band of adventurers led by the heroic Targen Silverstep to get to the bottom of it. Though the sheriff is skeptical of it being any creature of local superstition, he warns that any other adventurers, hunters, and mercenaries who have showed up to investigate to be weary. “The fact is, we don’t know what’s been mutilating our cattle in the lowland farms. We do understand that the people who have turned up missing and dead don’t appear to have been killed in the same way as the cattle. So it’s very likely we’re dealing with two different things. I haven’t fully discounted any crypto monsters out of the equation, though I do stress that we should focus on more likely culprits. Nevertheless, until the nature of the threat is known, we should do well to withhold both belief and disbelief until more is known.”
Floria Man looses teeth at a celebratory potluck -
Chronicled by Forest Woodroe
The events of Marshfield stirred many nearby communities into a panic. But that was not enough to stop the time honored traditions of the Florian Potluck from happening. Those living in the Swamp Village of Floria boldly claimed that “nothing in Marshfield affects any o’us whatsoevers.” Or so they thought, until one young Florian man lost what was left of his teeth after biting down on something hard. More and more of Floria’s villagers began to find something hard and grey in their soup. As it turns out, the mystery “Meat” was revealed to be the remains of a stone lizard folk that a hunter “Jud Jacobson” struck down in Marshfield.
“Wasn’t no way I was gonna bring them thar corruptered squirrels back. I seen what it did to that there dragon kin in the taverns.” Mr Jacobson remarked. “But those there lizard men? The way their stone skin flexes and moves with their muscle movements? I was convinced that there gotta be meat under them stony skins. Didn’t have time to cure it though, so Is just break it up and chucked it in. Hoped for the best..”
Mr. Jacobson is blamed for ruining the potluck for Floria Village, and now owes half a dozen residents compensation for taking their teeth. Something in short supply in Floria, apparently. But when reminded of this, Jacobson laughs, claiming that they’re over reacting. “Was nothin compared to the potlucks four scores back. When that there swamp thang that was still living was dumped in the pot. Lost more than teeth, that day. Some of us lost eyes, some lost fingers. People in Floria just has short memmers is all.”
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