X is for Xylanthe

How hungry we’ve grown, bound within the Dark Circle, the prison where the cursed Circle of Thirteen bound us, after driving us from Aethyria. The joke is on our enemies since we’ve turned this into a haven for all sorts of monsters, seeking their own. Plenty of would-be heroes strode through the Circle’s barrier, intent on glory and riches through slaying monsters. We fed well upon these, allowing a few to go free after killing our more troublesome brethren, boasting of the treasures they found, how easy it was to take it from their owners. What a bunch of fools. They all remind me of Caerac and Gwyneth when they were young and hot-headed, before they settled down to form Keeps, erecting walls around themselves and their own. As if simple stone could ever keep them safe. Only food is no longer willingly walking into our jaws. Humans are crying out that it’s wrong to go adventuring, to slay nonhumans, and take their treasure. This is most inconvenient. How is a monster supposed to eat regular meals if no adventurers enter their lairs? We need to stir up terror, the desire to hunt us in the mortal herds. To do that, we’ve dispatched a true monster among humans to cause Trouble at Caerac Keep. She works our will, although she doesn’t realize it, keep us informed what’s happening behind Keep walls, and what she’s doing. If she’s as capable as we believe her to be, she will soon scare up a new source of food. She’s already selected a few choice morsels. We just need to wait for her to deliver them.