Who shall know what is, but he who seeks it?

Who shall know the answer to a question but he who asks it?

Knowledge is power, they say... but even more, knowledge is knowledge.

The Libararian's Books

Riesen and Spirit Creatures

A collection of various sources, as related by a lady archaeologist

I, the Librarian, overheard this information as given by a lady archaeologist in the Goose and Goblin...

"I will attempt to paraphrase, and translate from the ancient Nova Roman text or High Old Mergran text, and even Old Corwythian, where necessary."
She settled herself more comfortably, then read aloud...

"This first is an excerpt from Scroll Fragment XXII, concerning the Riesen – “… and it was said by two survivors of an exploration party that the Riesen attacked without warning. They spoke of these giants with multiple heads, each head being equipped by three eyes, and the Riesen in this report had eight arms. Other reports have mentioned five arms, and on three occasions six arms were mentioned. It may well be that there is significant variation within the species.”

"Excerpt from Julio Eyeglasse’s Annals – “… we barely escaped with our lives after the Riesen attacked us. We found the best way in which to combat them was to blind them…”

"Excerpt from Thye Compleate Guyde to Combatte wythe Gyants – “… it is recommended that the Riesen be fought by long-distance weapons, since they themselves fight only in close combat. The drawback is that most Riesen come completely without warning upon parties…”

”Excerpt from Abicus Ribucol’s Physiognomy of Giants – “Although I cannot be certain without dissecting one myself, it is my contention that these Riesen have an exaggerated sense of smell, by which they sense that their “prey” is near…”

"As you can see, there are a few conflicting reports, and some interesting ideas...

"Now we come to the Barghast - let me refresh your minds about what the Corwyth Bestiary has to say.

"Barghasts are ghosts (i.e., creatures entirely of spirit fabric rather than physical fabric), all in white, with large saucer eyes and long dagger-like teeth… They commonly appear near gates, broken walls, ruins and so on, taking the form of a white cow, a horse, or a big black dog which leaps upon the shoulders of the unwary. While they do not appear at all upon Corwyth, they are prevalent upon the mainland of Ythor."

"And some further information on them - now where did I put it? Oh yes, here...

"Excerpt from Bosvile’s Kreatures of thye Spyryt Worlde – “Creatures such as the Barghast, a specific class of ghost, may be dispelled in the same way as detailed in Chapter IX – that is, by the efficacious use of holy water, prayers, sacred objects – but they cause a deal of damage when they appear. Each person in the vicinity will find their health substantially lowered by an encounter with a Barghast. It is recommended that ye avoid gates at night, or ruins, or broken walls…”

"We may also encounter Manes - again they are mention in the Corwyth Bestiary.

"Manes are creatures of dark emotions themselves, created when the deeds of the bad-tempered, permanently resentful and disappointed dead are deified by their descendants. They are powerful energy- and life-sucking spirits which can only be fought with magic – and specific, powerful magic at that. They are impervious to all physical attack. They can be found wandering over the mainland of Ythor in the night-time. They are pale, transparent creatures who seem all mouth…

Spells which may prove useful include Eye-bite Mane, and UnDeify Deeds.

"But here is something interesting - an excerpt from Bosvile’s Kreatures of thye Spyryt Worlde – “As regards Manes, extreme caution must be urged upon the reader. Better to avoid a man than to confront one, for they are very difficult to be rid of. The usual holy water and sacred symbols seem to little effect…”

"And this... excerpt from Hermith Lectaris’ Hystoryes of Mye Travels – “… and I fasted and prayed for 30 hours, growing weaker and weaker all the time from the incessant energy-consumption of the Mane. I was near death when finally the weakened Mane, which had sucked the life from my two companions, departed from me. I firmly believe that the combination of fasting and praying was what saved me.”

"I hope we do not encounter Yird-swine - here is what the Corwyth Bestiary has to say about them.

"Yird-swine are a strange and mysterious type of spirit animal, completely unclassifiable in terms of appearance. As soon as one is seen, its outline becomes blurred… they live in graveyards and wherever dead bodies are buried, burrowing among the corpses and devouring them. They are said to leap upon the living in an attempt to eat them, too.

"There is another excerpt from Bosvile’s Kreatures of thye Spyryt Worlde – “I again recommend extreme caution when dealing with yird-swine. Best that ye avoid graveyards – but if it be that ye should encounter one of the foul creatures, be sure to have with you distilled water of Clenth. It has been known to be effective upon the creatures.”

"And a slightly contradictory report from an excerpt from Golyworthe’s Journeyes – “I did not find any water to be effective, although they say that Clenth water will work. Perhaps the water we used was tainted – I do not know. But we did throw blessed pumpkin seeds at the yird-swine, and it stopped and consumed them, and then fell into a fit…”

Spells which may be of use: Bind Yird-Swine, as well as any general spell against spirit creatures, such as Ward Spirit Creature, Dispel Spirit Creature.

"Finally, the only information I have about Yeth-hounds is from the Corwyth Bestiary. Every other source merely says the same as is written here...

"These are hounds which have no heads, appearing as soon as the moon appears. They are animated by the spirits of murdered children who have lost their Map to the Realm of the Dead, and they attack solitary travellers. To kill one is not recommended, as the soul of the child is then lost for ever. Ideally, the adventurer should attempt to free the trapped spirit. Information on how to do this should be sought from the magic-users in Corwyth’s House of Bedazzled Scrolls."

Spells which may be of use: De-animate Yeth-Hound.
In order not to condemn those souls to an irreversible fate, you must save those souls. It is very difficult to do. The only suggestion I have is to find the grave of the murdered infant who animates a particular yeth-hound. It is not always clear which grave holds the body of such a child, but an observant man like yourself should manage. Then, I'm afraid you must exhume the body, and cut a snippet of the child's hair, placing it into a small container. If the body is too decayed, some scraping of bone will do, but is not as certain to work. Then, pour some holy water upon the hair or bone, see if you can find out who murdered the child, and if the murderer is dead, you must find his grave, dig it up, and pour a drop of the holy water in the container with the hair or bone upon his corpse. If the murderer is not dead - you must deal with him. I am sure you understand me. Once that is done, then seek out the yeth-hound again, and throw the remaining holy water from the container with the hair or bone upon it. This will separate the soul of the child from the ghostly creature, and the creature may then be overcome in the usual way, with prayers, holy symbols, and so on. When you are done, return the hair or bone to the grave of the child, and that will allow the child's soul to enter the realm of bliss.
If you encounter a yeth-hound before knowing who the animating soul is, then run.
However, there are two ways to go about [saving the child's soul]. The first (and easiest) way is to seek the body at a cemetery and examine the gravestones. The carving on the gravestones should either state or suggest that a murder was committed.
The other, more difficult, method is for when the child's body was disposed of without proper burial by the murderer. In that case, use this necrolode. It must be powered by mana, so I hope you have a magic-user in your group. They must cast the USE spell upon this necrolode, and the lodestone within will point in the direction of the body and will quiver uncontrollably when directly over the body."