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¡°I think we are well served.? Thank you?again for the hospitality and the grace with which you welcomed us."
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Lady Astorio smiles and nods.
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¡°You referred to dangers at night, Anything specifically?¡±
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She inhales slowly and deeply, then exhales through pursed lips and sits down again. ¡°So, I¡¯ve never been into the wastelands,¡± she begins excitedly. ¡°But oh the tales I¡¯ve heard. The desert is filled with terrors.
Naturally there are the common dangers like bandits and sand wyrms, and the nighttime jackal packs.¡±
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¡°Of course,¡± Brother Ashley replies, finally pushing away his plate and leaning back in his chair.
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¡°But there are also rumors of tribes of Insectmen coming closer!¡± she says, wide eyed. ¡°Six feet tall bugs that wear clothes and hunt with spears. Very cloistered and reclusive. They never come into the city. Very primitive.
Almost barbar-, <ahem> , almost feral¡¡± she trails off embarrassedly.
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¡°What do you know of Morningstar Hollow?¡± the Priest asks.
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¡°Yes,¡± Rana says, raising a finger. ¡°I was coming to that,¡± she explains. ¡°There are bandits that prey on the pilgrims. Wait. Let me back up. A strange happening occurred in Morningstar Hollow about ten or fifteen years
ago. The fabric of Mystra¡¯s Weave was plagued. Casters in the region were physically scarred by this event. Their scars were somehow imbued with Wild Magic. Most went mad and either killed themselves or were mercifully killed by others. But word spread and
now Ne'er-do-wells and other miserably downtrodden make a pilgrimage to Morningstar Hollow hoping to somehow acquire one of these magical scars. As I mentioned, bandits prey on these pilgrims. Every now and again the mercenary groups will send a patrol to
Morningstar Hollow to?discourage?the bandits -and- the pilgrims. Lunatics and madmen sometimes become fanatical about this magic. Even so, they don¡¯t deserve to get robbed and murdered
by bandits. Anyways, the last patrol of Eagles, that¡¯s a mercenary company in the Alaoreum District, the last patrol only had one survivor!¡±
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¡°I tended to him last evening,¡± Brother Ashley explains. ¡°His mine is lost. He keeps babbling on about a storm giant of fiery sand. His limbs are badly burned, but they should heal in time. His mind, however, I¡¯m uncertain
about.¡±
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Lady Rana¡¯s face pales. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard of the giant. Is the city in any danger?¡± she asks.
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¡°I couldn¡¯t say,¡± Ashley replies. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if there IS a giant. The wild magic may have corrupted the poor fellow¡¯s brain.¡±
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¡°The giant Sand Crawlers are bad enough,¡± Rana says. ¡°Actual fire Giants would be devastating.¡±
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¡°Giant . . . sand . . . crawlers . . .?¡± Ashley asks nervously.
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¡°Scorpions,¡± Rana explains. ¡°Horrible monstrosities,¡± she shivers. ¡°Over ten feet tall. Three venomous tails. Arms with dagger-like claws for pincers. They generally keep to the deep desert far from the cities, and
are supposedly nocturnal,¡± she explains. ¡°They feed on camelorps, a type of long tailed desert unicorn. Every few seasons though a caravan will get decimated by one, and then the Eagles go out to eliminate it.¡±
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And what do you do?
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/DM
