Out in the Farmlands - The False Hydra
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Rumour spreads of a man in city uniform advising travelers away from the city for the time being. When asked why, the man just alludes to dangerous creatures stalking the place.
With other adventurers, he is less taciturn
"We've seen it. It? Them? Wax in the ears works, in any case.
Imagine a wight's face. Pasty, fragile looking skin, like a maggot. Sunken black pits where its eyes should be. Can't see the eyes. They see you, though.
Only, the head is the size of a large wagon, and the jaws open wide enough to swallow a man whole. Now, put that head on a serpentine body the size of a purple worm, but still that pasty white flesh.
Stretching up to full height, we saw four, count 'em, four of those heads peering out above the College, above City Hall and and above the Mermaid.
Isolde and I mused it may be one creature, due to its name and the strange way the heads moved in concert. Just one. For now. Isolde thinks the damn thing might be giving birth to another one of the things soon. Imagine that. We best be killing it before that happens, eh?"
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Early this morning Freydis Fiolbrygga heads to the shrine of Tempus just south of the city, for some time. To pray, meditate and collect her thoughts. Afterward she sweeps the shrine, pulls weeds and does what she can to keep the place looking cared for. Then by ten in the morning Freydis is in position to help with the evacuation. She offers any assistance she can, from comforting worried citizens, offering reassuring words, wrangling their pets, carrying their family possessions, bringing food and water. And so on. Despite the crisis, she seems very happy, like she is in her element. Easing the fears, burden and discomforts of the citizens of Peltarch on this challenging day.
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George can once again be found among the troops stationed outside the city. With the adventurers planning on taking on the beast, he shares the following.
"We begin evacuating the city at dawn, by city gates, ships and portal. We've marked a ten hour window to get this done. Before that, we would ask you to do nothing to get the beast stirring. After those ten hours, our forces will regroup to be ready to strike at the beast if need be.
I will not be part of the fighting, as I will keep evacuating stragglers alongside a group of volunteers even during your strike ((I cannot be present for the finale)).It will likely be stirring of its own accord by the time our window is up.
If it gets out of hand and you see it become aggressive and attempting to thwart the evacuation, you can of course start your plans early.
Attempt to draw or drive it towards the southern gate if this happens. This will bring it closer to our forces and away from the docks and portal which will see most people out.
The portal will be by the bathhouse in case any of you need a quick exit, but I cannot say how long Spellweaver can maintain it.May the Vigilant One watch over us all. Good luck.
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Cray has been skulking around in the alleyways, nooks and crannies, keeping a vigilant watch over the First Bank of Narfell within Peltarch ever since. Does he ever sleep? One could only imagine how much coin he has deposited there...
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Isolde and George, after practically leaping off the walls and landing in a tangle of webs, share the following with any interested parties gathering at the checkpoints:
"Okay, so we had this inkling of the False Hydra being affected by song, given how important a trait it is to itself. I was ~hoping~ it would react instinctively in one way or the other, when I decided to sing from the College's rooftop with George playing lookout. Either it would find the song curious and enticing, or it might read some kind of challenge into it, responding with aggression. The former proved true, at least of the songs I tried, which definitely coaxed a response. The truly chilling part was that it... 'laughed' at us? And formulated some kind of words, possibly THANKING me for making its prey even easier to kill. It burst through a nearby window to feast right infront of us, in a manner I can only think of as mocking.
It has an overwhelmingly foul breath, the closer you get to the heads, and it's by my estimation far from a dumb beast judging by this response. While I was toying with the idea of learning or warping its own song to confuse it and maybe get it to attack its own heads, I'm no longer sure it would fall for it. That said, we've not tried its susceptibility to ordinary magic, so what if a good old fashioned Confusion spell would do the trick? It certainly does bleed too, because down on the streets, we heard cries of combat and as we ran, the False Hydra retreated. I'd wager it's arrogant at this size, but still uninclined to risk getting hurt."
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Isolde swings by the checkpoint frequently, distributing a vivid sketch of the False Hydra and passing a dusty old book around with a few more specifics on the beastie, for by now it seems confirmed it is just the one. "We'd best kill it good before it reaches full maturity, which looks pretty close by now. Once it grows seven heads, lore has it its song changes to downright enslave the meatbags unfortunate enough to hear it."
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The single marine is soon joined by several more. By the afternoon, a full cordon is instated to keep the unprepared from entering. Manned by the marines, it is swiftly reinforced by Ceruleans and Defenders of all branches. Defenders not manning the checkpoints seem to be congregating near the Royal Estates.
