The Snatcher

Monstrous Kidnapper

One quickly learns that The Displaced are not generally welcome among the people of the larger settlements of Deldrune and Reven. Even those Displaced who are members of respected adventuring companies are often scoffed at, or held in a great deal of superstition and mistrust. However, among the smaller settlements, it seems peoples' misgivings are not in the presence of The Displaced as much as what they believe is responsible for their being brought to the Western shorelines of their Kingdoms. From Drowner's Landing to Last Spark, and Talverton whispers of a mysterious monster, and quick prayers against its passing meet the inquiries of travelers passing through. Among the monsters that now plague the lands, fear of the creature known as The Snatcher is growing.

Summary

"In all my years I ain't never seen anything like that monster's eyes...Full oh' hunger an' hate...as yellah and green as demon fire...watchin' and swayin' in the waves." - Bartholomew 'Barty' Gupin

Any fisherman who makes his living on the Pheral Seas' waters knows that it is fool hardy to cast your boat into the sea after high tide, the waters are as likely to claim you as the poor souls which have been showing up there these past fifty-five years, but an even greater danger lurks in the murky depths for those who dare to sail at high tide. 

The Snatcher

A tale is told from the people of Drowner's Landing of a fisherman who bore witness to a foul creature which lurks beneath the Sea waves. One night, alone, the fisherman braved the waters in search of privacy in which to imbibe liquid comfort; a past-time his kinsmen knew to be the consolation to his long lost days. As it had many nights before, his boat silently rocked in accompaniment to his midnight libations, and did so much as to lull him into sleep like a child in arms. Afloat in the moon's pale light he marked not the passing of time, nor the movement of impending danger, until a loud call startled him back into waking.

The Fisherman

Then another of the creature's cries echoed down towards the earth with a flash of dark power. To his horror the fisherman found the creature returning, along with three helpless souls. Doomed ones ripped from another world to sate the hunger of the beast. As they fell the creature swirled about them, a ravenous animal taking to his spoils. It paid no heed to the quickly approaching waters, nor to the fisherman who desperately attempted to swim to the safety of the beach's shore. A thunderous chorus of spray lifted into the night as hunter and quarry ended their flighted dance, but the fisherman did not dare turn back to see what awaited at the end of this hunt for fear it ended with his addition to macabre scene. As he made his way to freedom, the cries of the three, pitiful, unfortunate, souls, rose over the waves, but in moments they were silenced amidst the water's drone. 

When at last the fisherman reached his familiar shore, he gathered his courage to seek out the figures of hunter and hoard. The clouds moved on to reveal once more, the moon's pale light, the calming waters, and nothing more. Vanished just as quickly as it had come, the creature did not rise again. Upon the sight, the fisherman prayed to thank the Gods for his fortune, which unlike the missing three, was not snatched out from beneath him.

Historical Basis

Drunken Vision Or Harrowing Account?

The first, and admittedly only, account of the monstrous Snatcher came from a resident of Drowner's Landing, one Mr. Bartholomew (Barty) Gupin in 1317 CE. Bartholomew, or Old Barty as he was often called, was known around the village for his favorite pastime of drinking himself to oblivion, until one night while alone on his fishing boat, roughly forty-five years from present date, when he claimed to have witnessed a strange monster accompanied by the appearance of three new Displaced. While Barty claimed that he was unable to aide the three lost souls the monster released, the bodies that washed up on the beach outside the village a couple mornings later seemed to corroborate his impossible tale. Anyone who asked Barty to recount his encounter in the days after were told the same story without error or change until the day Barty died five years later in 1322 CE. Since his death, his tale has passed from rumor into whispered truth among his surviving kinsmen. This has led to many of the villagers refusing to help find victims as they once had, for fear that they may be disrupting the monster's preferred prey, and that it might target the village if deprived of it's intended meals.

Spread

As Drowner's Landing is a relatively small village, the myth of The Snatcher has openly spread among the villagers, and to the scattered souls they've managed to save over the past fifty-five years. These people found their way to The Displaced city of Last Spark, where they helped in making the tale of The Snatcher well known, though not necessarily accepted as truth by the majority of people living there. Thanks to the number of adventuring parties comprised of Displaced making names for themselves in recent years, the tale of The Snatcher has been spread throughout Deldrune and Reven.

Variations & Mutation

Among some of the villages closer to woods or forests, rumors are beginning to spread that The Snatcher may be an elusive creature of Fae origin, able to stalk on land as well as water. Claims that the monster may be responsible for unexplained disappearances of folk from these villages is slowly adding an even more sinister presence to the original tale. The source and validity of these claims is unknown at this time.

Cultural Reception

Within smaller villages, where the populace has learned the tale from adventuring parties which have passed through, The Snatcher is spoken of only in hushed whispers. Another terrifying rumor to be added to the dark rumors shared in taverns, inns, and other places where such conversations occur. With recent rumors expanding upon what little is known, it will not be long before the Snatcher moves from superstition to legend.
Within the larger towns and cities of Deldrune and Reven, the tale of The Snatcher is met with blatant skepticism. Many write it off as another unfounded superstition; given the fact that no other sightings of this creature have been reported in other places where The Displaced have found themselves dropped, nor by The Displaced themselves; the supposed victims of the monster. Others believe The Snatcher may even be a known aquatic monster which the generally under-educated villagers have made into something far more threatening than it actually is.

Date of First Recording

1317 CE

Date of Setting

1307 - 1362 CE

Related Locations

• Drowner's Landing

Related People

• The Displaced