Case 1: Angler Fish

Briefing By: Jonathan Sims (w/ Loz and Martin Blackwood)

Statement: Over the past six or seven years there have been a dozen or more unsolved disappearances along the southernmost area of The Coins and throughout The Docks and The Puddles. The Starwatch has not looked too deeply into these disappearances because these things happen too frequently for one or two disappearances a year to stand out. However, a recent statement brought to the Institute by Nathaniel Watts sheds further light on potentially linking these cases.

Nathaniel is a student at the Arcanamirium, one of the most prestigious magical schools in the Inner Sea region. After a night out with friends at The Winking Cyclops – a tavern in The Coins – he was making his way back to his dormatory on campus when he stumbled on the road along the fish market. Admittedly a bit drunk, Nathaniel paused for a moment to roll himself a cigarette when a voice nearby spoke up, asking: “Can I have a cigarette?”

Nathaniel reports seeing the figure sway and, assuming they were intoxicated too, he offered a cigarette without coming close only to hear the question again – “Can I have a cigarette?” It was at this point that Nathaniel reports noticing that the figure’s mouth hadn’t moved, and that their feet weren’t touching the ground. Using a simple light cantrip to try and see down the alleyway, he was only able to see what appeared to be the figure folding in half and disappearing down the alleyway.

After running home, Nathaniel returned to the scene during the day and found an unsmoked cigarette on the ground. A few days later, Nathaniel discovered that fellow student John Fellows had been reported missing. The cigarette that Nathaniel found was John’s brand.