Arcanum Logistics: Open for Business

   A unique new business opened its doors to customers this week. Located roughly two miles south of Lyal'Dream’s capital, Arcanum Logistics is an ambitious venture which offers magical and technological services to those who need and can afford them. I spoke with the two proprietors of the shop, a pair every bit as unusual as the crafts they practice.

   The first was an automaton by the name of Memnarch. This mechanical man, a craftsman of technological wonders, shared with me his hopes for the business.

   “Arcanum logistics is supposed to be service for all and every task. We strive toward being able to provide any service and try to do it at a cheaper price. We may be small now but I hope to build it to be more than just a store in the future.”

   The other founder was a small and mysterious man who refused to show his face or even give his name. Instead, he asked to be referred to as ‘Reader’. Despite being quite literally cloaked in secrecy, he did have much to say about the shop and his role regarding it.

   “I am quite pleased with the Arcanum Logistics. It is an official place of business as well as study. I will, hopefully, be furthering the research of other Wizards or arcane practicers while I am able to use the funding I receive to further my own research. This was simply a job that was requested of myself by the store owner, Memnarch. I was to build a building for his own personal business. I was invited into the business and now spend the majority of my time here. Time of which I man the front desk and sell my magical goods and services as the Arcanum Logistic's Wizard. Again, I am pleased with the project, the opportunity, and have favorable visions for the future.”

   Between the two of them, they have a variety of products are available to customers, including magical items, gadgets, and spell scrolls. They can also aid in the identification of magical artifacts and even teach spells to novice mages. The two plan to expand and bring on more tinkerers and creators like themselves, though they would not disclose their names. I, for one, look forward to seeing Arcanum Logistics grow, and hope that these clever and daring innovators succeed in sharing their creations with the world.

- written by Kenneth Oberon

Adventurer's Confessions

A Farewell to Arms

Adventuring is a dangerous, treacherous life. Those who lead it face many risks such as decapitation, immolation, petrifaction, molestation, and, as happened to one particular adventurer, dismemberment. An Ursine warrior known only as ‘Ursa’ shared with me the story of a time he was disarmed while on the job.

“So Ursa go into forest to find flower, but he find magic hot tub cave. So he go there and a big snake bite off his left ring finger. So then he fight snake, and get his ass whooped. Then he run away. He find a camp, and get shot in back by blue lizard lady. She was scary, but she make me go back to snake cave. Ursa not feel good, but have to fight snake with lady. Ursa go down and lady kill snake. Lady take snake and go to Ursa and eat off his right arm.”

Going out on a limb, I think most people dealt such a losing hand would have folded. However, Ursa was determined to show that he could bear this burden quite handily. He continued to go on adventurers, boldly charging into battle just as he had before.

“He (Ursa) alive, but need new weapon. So he get sword, it good sword. Then he get light sword. Two damn months of trying to get arm back… Ursa did ok in combat, very good for one-armed Bear man.”

For months he searched for a a way to make himself whole again, only to keep coming up empty-handed. However, after much time and money, his efforts would eventually bear fruit. With financial help from friends, and the assistance of an expert craftsman, he was able to find a mechanical replacement for his missing part.

“Ursa buys 16,500 fidgets of flexsteel, and after five trips to Chross he get arm. He pass out and now he can’t touch spellcaster or magic item. So he use shield and light sword. First thing he do with new robo arm was give Daisy a proper two-arm hug. And she not spell caster so it’s a plus!”

Ursa's story is a reminder to all of us that, whenever it seems life is giving you the middle finger, it is an opportunity to take matters into your own hands.

- written by Kenneth Oberon

The End to a Threat

Now this is a bit of a blast from the past, I received this story some time ago but due to recent excursions I have been unable to publish it. Wherever you are sender, if you are still alive, your story made it to light. It's a long read which I wanted to divide up in multiple pieces but we've been gone for some time so enjoy.

“Another peaceful day in the Wandering Fox. Quiet. A calm filled the air as a slow day was a time to remember for an adventurer. Free food and drink for the adventurer and the almighty Davin to watch over your head. Though all good things must come to an end.”

“A man rushes into the tavern in a rush. A panic even. They pinned a note on the notice board and left just a quickly as they rushed in. There was silence. No one had lifted themselves out of their seat to go look at the note, so I, Reader, volunteered to be the first to the initiative. As I read the note, the words made tell of a threat coming our way. A large threat. A true force to be reckoned with. A danger of the ages. I brought the note to the attention of the other adventurers that were in the tavern at current. But again, this was a slow day.”

“The only participants that stood to fight were a Barbarian ursine, Ursa, and a cloaked Rogue, Hybrid. I sighed at our short numbers, but what we had at hand was our only hope, so we made haste for the battle… nae… battlefield.”

“As we arrived, we were intercepted by a messenger who had the same discomfort as myself. ‘So few reinforcements?’ We revealed the unfortunate fact that our numbers were low and the force we reckoned with was finally revealed to us.”

“A band. Large. Hundreds of thousands of tracks in their path. Extremely fast. Destruction followed where they went. An indescribable appearance. And a large leader to rule them all. All heading toward our City. The City of Fireflies. This was no mere fight. We… were going to war.”

“All looked grim. We were going up against forces whom we knew fought at night, were extremely destructive, and outnumbered us 4 to 1, my magical scouting later revealed to us. Over ten thousand enemies, footmen, archers, flying creatures, the leader and the most worrying… long range siege equipment. This… was a battle to win... or to lose the City of Fireflies.”

“Hybrid, the most cunning of the lot of us, devised a plan to aid us in our battle. And he is most of the reason we still live to this day. The enemy was coming from the south, making their way toward us. They were to come into the battle in between a large hill and a forest, being in the middle of a plains. The plan was for trenches to be dug so that we have somewhere to hide on the battlefield. I was in charge of this task as I can transform into a burrowing creature. Then spikes were to be setup in front of the trenches so that as the enemy approached, they would impale themselves on the spikes. We would cut down the lot of trees nearest where the enemy was coming from and light all the lumber on fire as to push the enemy closer to the center of the battlefield. This job was entrusted to the Barbarian, Ursa and his crew. I added onto the plan, suggesting that with my magic, I make magically Glyphs that would send Fireballs and Ice Storms at the enemies as they passed. I also made the battlefield look heavily obscured, hid the spikes from sight, and created large illusory trenches to funnel the enemy toward the center. Memnarch, the Warforged Artificer, whom found their way to the battlefield during preparations, created with the help of many other craftsmen, large constructs that could fire hundreds of arrows at a time, some of which were even explosive. Hybrid, bravely taking the front lines, made sure all the foot soldiers and archers were firing at the right targets and doing the tasks they were instructed well. With all in place, the battle was to start, and our time to prove we could fight for our city had come. It was win, or the City of Fireflies loses everything.”

“The battle was fierce. Thousands of arrows were shot that day. Explosions were heard left right and center. Carcasses littered the area heavily. The spikes did their jobs of keeping the weak foot soldiers at bay. The constructs pelted the aerial creatures along with the archers. But the enemy crept closer. And closer. And closer. Then close.”

“We’d lost men. We’d lost a few of the constructs. The enemy was nearing defeat. All of their ground forces were dead. Nearly all of the aerial forces were dead. The mount in which the leader was riding on was no more. The only true threat that was left was the enemy captain. A true being of destruction. Undeath by the name. Bones. Necrotic, black energy. We fought. Spells were cast by all the Wizards. The Artificers launched their fireworks. Hybrid’s archers fired their bows. We all fought tooth and nail. And after all the casualties, by the dozens, we won. The Artificers let out a final volley of fireworks and blew the evil, undead creature to smithereens. The war was over. We had saved the city. A threat to all of the City of Fireflies, and potentially all of Lyal-Dream, was eliminated.”

“There is one detail that is unforgettable in this mission. This mission of focus, determination, strategy, steel of mind and body. A mission of glory and honor, the Ursine had the most memorable quote of us all.”

“Wait… What are we doing again?”

- written by Loremaster

Party, Drinks, and Prizes

A bard once said that every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. Even as the long-time operator of the Wandering Fox was packing his things, another individual was preparing to open her dining establishment to the public. Nora's Adventuring Emporium kicked off in spectacular fashion, throwing a party with games, food, drink, and even a prize giveaway. I spoke with Alixandar, the lucky winner of Nora's grand prize, and he had much to say about the Emporium and the hostesses.

NORA EMPORIUM

“My Impression of Nora’s Emporium? A wonderful little place, a perfect hide away to escape recent mismanagement at the Fox. An elf with a cheery disposition and aura that implies a heart of gold, so rare I have only met two elves in my lifetime that are aloof enough tick those boxes. Alongside the cool calming nature of Lady Hailey, Lady Nora runs things excellently at fair prices which is almost unfair for the quality of the product whereas Lady Hailey’s calm demeanor achieves a state of Zen in the library. All in all, a brilliant package, wrapped in a glittery bow.”

The night's activities included darts, cards, a climbing wall, and even an eating contest. Alix went on to describe his experiences throughout the evening.

“The Grand Opening Itself? Splendid, aside from myself, allowing me to extort a recipe book from the bravado of youth and the most interesting of magical garments as a final winning prize, the grand opening spared no expense to showcase every detail of the emporium to everyone in a manner that didn’t alienate anyone whatsoever. With the large requirement for attention to detail in my Butler work, I am beyond impressed with the impression and potential of the emporium that absolutely trumps anything I’ve seen even in High Society circles.”

Only time will tell how Nora's will do, but it seems this party was an extremely promising start.

- written by Kenneth Oberon

Biohazard

   There is no telling what sort of dangerous creatures are out there, waiting to be discovered. All the time, adventurers find themselves facing off against new and mysterious foes. One such adventurer is Wilhelm, who shared the story of his encounter with a nightmarish creature.

   “So recently me and my party went to go to a request for assistance because something was killing villagers and ran them out of their homes. What happened when we arrived at the abandoned village, we faced against a 30ft tall wolf like thing, as we damaged it enough the thing controlling it, a symbiote, ran away.”

   The wolf in question was a gruesome amalgamation of wild creatures brought together by a parasitic entity. It was not the only such antagonist, as Wilhelm went on to explain.

   “Before we could catch it we faced against about 9 small bug like monsters that were also controlled by the symbiote. We dispatched them easily but as we killed them their symbiotes collected to the center of town and became a giant web like monster. After a large struggle we managed to defeat it.”

   Fortunately, Wilhelm and his companions managed to triumph over this sinister foe, and the village it had terrorized was saved. However, they were unable to prevent part of the symbiote from escaping, and nor could they determine its origin. What this organism is and where it will strike next are, for the time being, a mystery.

- written by Kenneth Oberon

 In the Wild

Another small report of adventurer's journeys in Teresyum. Interesting enough this one seems to have been written by somebody who still appreciates properly written articles, from a brother of words far away this is Waldwin Inkfeather story:

“Wilden! A folk we had lost contact with after the days of Remulus Softpaw, after we left the Feywild.”

   A few weeks ago, something truly incredible happened in Upperburrow. Our humble society was visited by two Wilden, coming here on a request for help we sent to the Adventurer's Guild.

   Naturally they were greeted with awe and wonder, and many of the mice

   I interviewed expressed their excitement about seeing the Feywild's guardians for the first time.

"A true blessing it is . . . like meeting a long lost friend" says Madam Ticklegrass, and right she is.

   I also spoke with young Tinble Cottonfur, member of the LK&M Department and newly joined Upperburrow Scout. He handled the mission they were here for and he gave me the most extraordinary story about what happened:

   Apparently our scouts handed in the request for assistance in acquiring samples from the Fungal Grove discovered a month ago, the discovery that led to the tragedious loss of the appointed scout team, I remember seeing poor Anthony Redtail when he crawled his way back. And you all heard the whispers and warnings about the 'Guardian of the Fungal Grove' going around. Turns out that it was a troll! Our Wilden friends found and met that fearsome creature and were able to reason with it! From what Tinble told me they made a bargain, to "[...] pacify some sort of corrupted tree" as he described it.

Of course they were successful, as expected from our friends from old times.

"The tree, it was being influenced by an Anima crystal, combined with necromancy magic." as they told young Tinble while handing over a giant basket full of mushrooms from the grove. And it seems clear that they too had a great time here in Upperburrow, the shouts "OH MY GOD HE IS SO FLUFFY!" after hugging Cottonfur are surely a good indicator for that. Well, I don't know about you folks, but I sure will never forget our two heroes of the month: Findarris & Elacan Keep your whiskers straightened & your paws ready for the next issue of 'Whiskers & Paws' Waldwin Inkfeather, Author & Publisher of 'Whiskers & Paws'