If anything positive can be said about Amphelise, and I am not sure it is possible, it would be about her desire for scientific discovery. As a fellow scholar, I would appreciate her devotion to invention, had it not been for the needlessly cruel way she went about it. Still, her defeat left various abandoned laboratories and collections that need to be cataloged, if for no other reason than they could prove incredibly dangerous.
Whimpering first drew me to the creatures on the other side of the door. Upon opening it, I found 3 emaciated things I can only describe as dog-like creatures. Further exploration found that they had been kept in small cages but were released from confinement only to remain trapped in a larger facility without anyone to care for them.
The beasts were collared and tame. While I cataloged the contents of the facility, which mostly turned out to be non-magical equipment best described as broken useless junk, the creatures stayed close responding to my every command. I began to grow enamored with the strange creatures though I am hardly an animal lover. They seemed unhappy despite my best attempts at proper care. I thought maybe these pitiful creatures might be happier outdoors and I told them to go outside for a bit. I hadn’t expected them to understand but sure enough each of them vanished. I thought I might have been going mad but each returned within the hour.
Imagine my surprise. Not only did these creatures understand me but they were capable of instant travel. I begin to give them more explicit orders and they were always followed to the letter. In time I realized if there was a discovery in this facility, it was these creatures. That is when I began to pay closer attention to the collars.
Each collar was a blend of mechanical pieces and magic. I am by no means a master mage but I believe their main purpose was control. Beyond that however, and much to my unease, there was a second component. Each collar was armed with a very strong magical explosive. It appeared that my care with the collars had paid off as the explosive was set to detonate upon tampering. The explosive would likely obliterate the poor creatures and perhaps those nearby as well. Worse still, the collars are unstable enough to perhaps go off if magic is cast upon or even very near them.
I packed my things. These creatures were to be taken to those more capable than I. I was about to leave when 12 men wearing a strange symbol (a shepherd’s crook crossed with a spear) burst into the room. They had a strict military attitude about them though they were neither the Crown’s men nor those upstart DoD. They proceeded to rob me of my materials, albeit in a very polite manner. They took most of the junk. One of the soldiers grabbed the creatures and looked them over. He ordered them sent to the Houndsman. A braver man would have told the creatures to flee. With a few swords pointed at me, and the hope that my life may not yet be forfeit, I held my tongue.
If you come across those poor creatures, please do what I could not. But please MIND THE COLLARS.