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[strength_of_will]

[ There's a sombre-looking William on the feed today. He looks a little worn from fighting off the creatures, but otherwise mostly unharmed as far as anyone can tell. He's only sorry he's interrupting all the attempt at holiday cheer. ]

I understand that there's been a call for retribution - or justice, some might call it - against the people of Rumpitur. I'm here to ask you all to take a step back and show some compassion and understanding. It is neither fair nor just to accuse an entire village of wrongdoing when they act out of fear or desperation. Who amongst you wouldn't have done the same in their position?

I propose we slay the creature terrorising their village. We were hard-pressed simply to escape from its minions, but I believe that if given time to prepare and coordinate, we can surely defeat it. Once it's gone, the people of Rumpitur can live normal lives.

Comments

[strength_of_will]

That almost sounds like we should bait it into 'playing' with us. I'd be worried that it would summon more...

[ But still, it's as good a suggestion as any. ]

If the soil were aether, how would you study it?

[heartofsalvation]

That is indeed the concern, isn't it? We could easily become overwhelmed. The best thing would be to ascertain how bright the creature is; how tactical it can get when pressed. If it's not particularly smart, it may be an easier fight, even without numbers on our side.

Well, if it were, we could likely discern its makeup, determine any elemental affinities, and take a measure of how much aether was present: in other words, how fertile it might be. But this system relying on a completely different sort of ambient energy, if any, makes that difficult. I suppose the alternative, short of looking at it down to the tiniest mote, is exposing it to different elements and substances, to see what effects they may have.

[strength_of_will]

But that isn't something we can do unless it presents itself again. I would assume that it may be weak to electricity whilst in the water but I did not want to try and risk harming those escaping in the boats. However, with a coordinated effort, I'll be able to attempt it.

Would you be willing to aid me in fighting the creature when the time comes? It sounds like your ability to analyse its movements would be of great help for us.