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Linaras, 23rd day of Darkember, 2008
First Watch rising 7
The Palanthas Herald

Guardian Monster Sinks Ergothian Merchantman

by Darcwulf, Staff Writer
Last Updated: Linaras, Gildember 12, 2008

Palanthas - The monster that was released last week into Palanthas's harbour as a guardian, broke free of control and has sunk an Ergothian merchantman killing most of the crew.

Early Palast morning as the Ergothian merchantman The Soaring Eagle approached Palanthas, the guardian sea monster that was released last week attacked it. The giant squid-like monster wrapped it's tentacles around the ship and began to squeeze.

"I've haven't anything like it in all me days," said Franc Nolan, a Palanthian dock worker. "It clung to the prow and then all of a sudden it just clenched, crushing the front part into kindling'. I could see the crew diving for safety, but the monster scooped them up and wrung 'em out like rag dolls, before stuffing them in his maw."

Members of the Palanthian Guard who man the harbor turned their siege weapons upon the creature hoping to distract it, but the mundane weapons had little effect on the monstrous creature. "We fired the ballista several times but to no real effect," said Manfred Rennin of the guard. "The spears just bounced off its hide and the catapult was just as useless. That was when we first saw Morris Sheppard and those others."

Witnesses say that Sheppard, formerly of the Palanthas Guard, was in the company of a half-elf and a pair of gnomes. All four were in one of the harbors small interceptor crafts with the half-elf using magic to propel the little ship in close to the creature.

"I thought they were going to crushed too, 'cause the monster turned on them too, but them gnomes fired this weird looking crossbow at it." continued Rennin "It wasn't no arrow that hit it, but shiny metal disc thing. Ol' squiddy seemed to shiver for a bit, like it was cold or something, then it just sunk below the water."

Sheppard and his friends retrieved the survivors before returning to the dock where he spoke briefly with the Herald before disappearing.

"This is what will happen now that the Blue Partisans are holed up in the palace not bothering to keep their toy in check. That creature will attack every ship that enters the harbor. The disc the gnomes fired was just an annoyance for something of that size; it'll be back - no doubt a vengeance."

Adventure Hooks

The sea monster is no longer under the control of the Blue Partisans and will attack any ship that approaches the Palanthas docks. Someone needs to stop it before more innocents are killed.