Snippet #2777504

Another Ellyrian roe buck had died mysteriously. The corpse lay all alone and with no obvious signs of injury in a small forest clearing. This one was even smaller and skinnier than most, which could either be a sign of immaturity or of ill health. It was hard to say from mere visual cues. Big, healthy game were becoming scarcer by the day, or so it seemed. Ziara's olfactory senses were of little help in determining the source of the creature's demise. Indeed, it had to be a radical new disease of some kind, but she could not identify it. It was almost as if the animal's spirit had just up and left the body for no earthly reason at all. The tigress stretched out one of her striped wings and used the tip to close the creature's lifeless eyes respectfully. "By Gaia's grace may you rest in peace. For reasons of caution, I cannot honor you with consumption of your flesh. Please forgive me and my kindred. If this has happened to you, we have failed to do the duties given us by the carnassial goddess," she spoke in an almost ceremonial chant. Ziara bowed her head woefully and turned northward to continue her patrol of the territory. She knew she was going to have to report the death to the local forest guardian, who was already troubled enough by a recent series of events that had begun to plague the woodland. Strange weather, disappearing game, and invasive vegetation, among other signs, pointed to trouble on the horizon. What was the source of these misfortunes and how could Ziara and the other forest keepers even hope to combat them? Ziara did not know, but she was willing to do whatever it took to find out.