As agreed with my friend
James, most worthy of mortals, we undertook to track the Beast thinking
that a creature of its reported size would be easy to follow. It was soon clear, however, that the Beast had some
way of disguising its tracks lending credence to the idea that it was as some suggested an unnatural creature of the nether
realms. Instead of a direct approach we took to investigating its pattern of attacks and
discovered its first assault was on copper miners in the Dire Hills north of the Feywood.
By befriending the scattered herdsmen that lived in those hills we soon worked out the where the abandoned mine was
sited and did indeed find traces of the Beast there. It was, however, gone from its lair and disturbingly made
little attempt to hide its trail as if it travelled with the reckless abandon of wrath. Fearing that the target
of that wrath was in all likelihood James's new encampment on the plains I summoned the winds to speed me
back to his side. Balerin I left to follow its tracks but not to engage it if she stumbled upon it resting.
I recalled indeed that James, who had the gift of foresight, had told me he was destined to confront the Beast
and I hoped I would be in time to be there if that happened. Arriving in the camp I went straight to his tent
and informed him of my fears.
His response was to ask for time to pray while I alerted what small military force he
had. I also sent out scouts from the camp to no avail for within the hour out of nowhere the Beast appeared
at the edge of the encampment.
The screams of those who saw it alerted James for it was a huge thing like a striped wildcat that stood on its
hindlegs but was twice the height of a man or elf.
James just stood there in his robes serene as always as the Beast approached him swatting aside the few who dared
intervene. I muttered my own prayers and unleashed a powerful beam of radiance upon it which should have halted many
a demon. Taking no notice of my spell the Beast moved to raise its mighty claws against James when a remarkable
thing happened. Time itself stopped.
The Beast stood frozen while a mighty solar descended from the sky and handed James a
greatsword. 'This sword forged in the deeps of time when Malgoth's legions sought to cover the earth is the thing
the Beast most fears', said the solar. 'Now blessed by Pelor it will bring the Beast's downfall. You only have
to touch the Beast with it to banish it to Hell where it belongs.'
Somewhat reluctantly James, a man of peace, grasped the sword and with that the solar vanished. The Beast's mighty
blow was blocked by James and it knocked the sword out of his hand but at the cost of separating its claw from its body.
The Beast cried out in pain, not from losing its claw I suspect, but because it was losing its substance in
this plane. I picked up the sword just in case the Beast needed any encouragement to leave this world but it slowly
dissipated with a terrible wail. James went back to his tent and as I followed him I could see he was trembling and once
inside he broke down with tears of relief.
Within the hour he had recovered his composure and was organising a great thanksgiving service to Pelor. I did
not tell him at the time but my feeling was that I had just seen the defining moment in the birth of a nation.