The Beast of Redenford

[Box_Elf 49]

The Redenford Account

By Alad Val’Telos Celia’thilln

Date 1801

Premise

The following is the accounts from myself and my companions regarding the Beast of Redenford. Setting off for clues regarding the whereabouts .of my missing professor, Telos, I would find myself meeting a kindred mind for adventure. Nemnea, a wood elf of tanned skin bearing a wreath of flowers atop her head, would accompany myself to Oren seeking adventure. Nemnea, like myself had rarely frequented the outside world of our cities Elveness and Haelun’or in respect to me to the latter. My secondary task for the San’evarir library was to provide a new book to the stalk of our shelves as I am a trainee within the library.

Oren

Arriving in Oren, Nemnea and myself settled for a rest in a local tavern. We seemed to have walked into an altercation. Two Valah men were choking another man for the offence of hitting on one of the men’s wives. The Valah also threatened the man’s life if he bothered their family again. Oren guards broke up the dispute before any further escalations occurred. A patron began to sing a local tune as we decided on our next move. I was beginning to think that the scuffle would turn into the highlight of the trip. Were we ever wrong. Wandering around the city to pass time, I pointed out the location I had seen a dark elf thief bounding rooftop to rooftop to avoid the Oren guard. There we came across Caleb of Stofs. He was unable to translate our greeting of Karin’ayla, so we switched to the common tongue for simplicity.

The Bar

As luck would have it, Caleb’s friend, Ed the bartender had setup a new pub, days prior. After a successful opening night prior, Ed hoped to celebrate with his good friend Caleb. Politely, Nemnea and I tagged along. Ed’s slogan was “Cheap Alcohol.” Simplistic. Caleb and Nemnea were hesitant to partake in the bar’s goods, so I said, “What good adventure doesn’t start without a slosh at the bar?” I bought a round of wine from Ed. The glasses were dingy, but no matter, it was tradition among the adventurers in epics. Once liquored up, the bartender told us of Caleb’s interest in books and his recent losses scrapping with other Valah. Realizing his good mood, I asked Ed if there had been anything interesting as of late.

Ed’s Tale

“I was heading outside the city walls to restock the bar from opening night. You should have seen the place. Half the town was there. Even a fight blessed the stools. Back to the story. On the road, my good mate Vic Armas came running with a huff. ‘Come quick. There has been a cart ambush. 20 Oren guards are being deployed to the Redenford road.’ Cresting the hill, I came to a scene of terror. An unworldly tentacle had erupted from the soil. The trade cart headed for Redenford had been splintered and the merchant lay dead. An Oren guard was picked up and torn asunder. Vic and I ran for our lives. I wasn’t staying for that mess.” Intrigued, I asked Ed if he could point out the direction of the incident. Nemnea gave me a glance. Ed said he wouldn’t go near it, though he did point us in the direction. Ed warned us not to go. I told Ed “Nemnea and I were already set on finding adventure.” Caleb stood up, offering his blade and service as a guide.

Redenford Massacre

Caleb seemed interested in the San’evarir library. I answered what I could. He was a learned man, and an excellent guide. The scene was immediately recognizable from the devastation. The cart had been ripped apart. In what could only be assumed as the merchant, a Valah skin, pulled from its innards lay stretched across the road. Caleb and Nemnea commented on the wretched smell. Caleb stood guard, uneasy and fearing the beast’s return. I asked Nemnea to survey for tracks as I investigated the scene. I noted a strange Sable stone burned into the soil. Chipping off a portion of the mineral, I took a sample in my vial. Nemnea noted a blood splatter without a body. The two dozen footprints of scattering Oren guard spelled out the demise of one of their own. I commented that the merchant appeared to be carrying lumber. Caleb informed us that Redenford was under construction and that this merchant was most likely on route. He continued to tell us that there were only a few structures currently standing. Caleb then noticed a new statue of a horse nearby, though I cannot confirm the statue’s date of construction. Nemnea insisted on trying to climb the statue to which I commented “Statues are not trees, that does not look scalable.” As the last syllables left my mouth, the wood elf promptly hit the stone, breaking her fibula. Nemnea cursed in pain as she lay on the ground. Lucky for her, I remembered a recent text I had read about field medicine, I recited a summary of each chapter. This prompted Nemnea to curse louder as I crafted a makeshift crutch and applied a cold liquid to the wound. I asked if she wished to continue or return home. Nemnea replied “Well we are hear already.” To which we continued down the road towards Redenford.

Redenford Proper

Nemnea struggled to travel with us. We arrived at the outskirts late at night, slowed by her injury. I noted that the bridge into town was of shoddy construction. We found no more insights to the investigation and decided that we needed to take a rest somewhere. Nemnea was not in any condition to walk the road at night. As the town did not have any ‘No Trespassing signs’ and was devoid of residents, we decided to stay the night in the local manor. The door was locked. Nemnea found the key into the residence. Setting up to rest near the fireplace, Caleb lit the fire. He told us of a witch named Zhomo who gave him a magical mushroom one time. They told him that it would make someone look old and weak, calling it an Accursed Mushroom. Caleb called it an Aging Mushroom. The witch warned him that the mushroom only retained its effects temporarily. Caleb tested it on his dog with successful result dismissing the warnings of curses from Zhomo. The effects apparently wore off after a month or two. Dawn arose and no further interesting events occurred. We each parted our separate ways. I assisted returning Nemnea to Elveness, knowing that she would struggle home without aid due to her injury. Retiring to the San’evarir library in Haelun’or, I wonder if I will ever see the Beast of Redenford. For now I shall ask the other academics for help identifying the nature burned black mineral.

After an interview with the General of Oren, Alad posts a revision that the beast was supposedly slain. Yet none of the guards had noticed the massive horse statue that day. The beast is also recorded to have shape changing properties, making Oren soldier fight one another in confusion.

[Old Man Boiendl 1454]

Ed Myre happily reads his first edition copy of the book.

 

"A bold scholar! Hurrah for this one and GODSPEED on the next endeavor!"

[ErikAzog 3575]

Peter Baldwin d'Arkent would sit from the depths of the Bastion, reading the first edition, going to nod slowly as he read the words, "This seems like the start of my new favorite series."

[Stump 709]

"Goodness, he's been busy." Okarir'maehr- that's Councilor of Academics for those unawares,- Aiera Sullas muses o'er a a cup of something toasty in the cool evening she faced. Albeit the snow had stopped sticking, but that didn't keep the chill off. Not to mention the cold ice of politics. Adventure seemed more fun, in this immediate moment. Then she remembered the Fall of Arcas, and figured that it was no good at all. Leave it to the youth, perhaps.