Throughout the month of Phaestian, 766 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, heated arguments were heard on the streets of Hashan as groups of thieves aired a disagreement over some unknown prize. Days later, the sounds of glass shattering clashed with a flurry of upturned boxes as these thieves appeared to be searching for something of great importance.

It was the in following month of Chronos that the wily burglars appeared to find what they sought, as death arrived in the Court of Shadows. The unlucky victim was a young thief, his remains sloughed away by deadly venom. Mere minutes later a second victim fell, an unfortunate warehouse manager barely managing to let out a scream of agony before she was crushed in the grip of an unseen assailant.

Fleeing toward the Crossroads, Kriegan, infamous Prince of the Thieves Guild of old, emerged breathless and wounded, yelling a frantic cry for help. At first he was met with aught but suspicion and insults, forced to exchange barbs with Sholen Lighthawk before the arrival of Asmodron Dicondron quelled the argument to a stalemate.

Under the questioning looks of at least a dozen Hashani citizens, all deeply suspicious and not a one impressed by the disturbance, the thief-prince regaled the gathered throng with tales of an excursion into abandoned Serpentlord holdings and the "porcelain" egg found inside. Carting it back to their own warehouses, the egg sat quietly on a shelf for weeks before an interested buyer was found. When Kriegan moved to retrieve it, his mind awash with thoughts of riches - something scarce in an age of careless pickpocketers and overcautious adventurers - the egg was gone. Only shell remained, and the snake was nowhere to be seen.

Wringing his hands in a failed attempt at contrition, he told of how his friend and warehouse manager had died when the serpent finally emerged, escaping onto the streets and vanishing into the night. Kriegan implored the Hashani to find it and kill it, offering a suggestion that it must have fled somewhere warm. Indicating his own wounded face, the thief shrugged and returned to his den.

So began the frantic scouring of the Court of Shadows before a group of well-seasoned residents stumbled into the brewery, where the usually lively Harris and Berford were screaming for help. Gesturing at a small hole in the ground, between their frightened babbles it became clear that a small grotto had been discovered below, and this is where the snake had fled.

Valiantly venturing within, the Hashani moved with purpose through the low and narrow tunnels, the apparent safety causing them to momentarily relax their guarded poise.

It was a mistake.

A dozen saw-scaled vipers launched themselves at the group, hissing violently as foul venom sprayed in all directions. People fell on all sides, frantically taking up arms to fight off the newly arrived army of snakes. Pushing through the grotto, the Hashani reached a dead end, and a terrifying sight awaited. A monstrous saw-scaled mother viper lurked within, forty feet in length and coiled dangerously around dozens of newly laid eggs. Launching herself without fear at the gathering, bodies began to litter the grotto as the eggs started to hatch, until a horde of smaller vipers slithered unabated through the tunnel and into the city proper.

Half a day passed before the adventurers redoubled their efforts, venturing once more into the fray to confront the monstrous creature. Battering her with an onslaught of swords, claws, and powerful magicks, she fled across the city, hissing loudly as yet more of her eggs began to hatch. Twice more was the matron forced to flee from her makeshift nests, finding respite in the famed Hashani Planetarium as she readied for a last stand.

The peace lasted but a moment before her pursuers charged in, ready to do battle anew. Violently defending herself, the combined assault of the mother and her dozens of babies overwhelmed all with their poisonous might, slaying dozens where they stood before - after a day of fighting - she faltered, her sinuous body coiling in a valiant attempt at defence even as the life ebbed from her.

But death was not yet finished.

As her eyes faded and her form grew limp, the mother viper loosed a final defiant spray of venom, and - while another half a dozen bodies littered the Planetarium grounds - she at last fell dead, leaving behind a curious white egg.

While the Hashani tried in vain to wrest it from the ground, it was Beckett of the Krymenian Academy that provided a solution. With the permission of the Seneschal, the Unveiler took the egg into his possession and went off in search of a living sample. Cornered by Athalos, the last remnant of the serpentine brood was captured by the Krymenian teacher and taken to safety in the Academy's halls.

Summary:

The Thieves Guild of Hashan stumbled across a large egg, which ended up hatching into a monstrous viper and killing two of their number before escaping into Hashan. Discovering an old grotto beneath the Eventide Brewery, dozens of Hashani citizens gave chase in an attempt to slay the beast as dozens of its own eggs hatched. After scores of deaths, the group finally succeeded in dispatching it atop the Planetarium, where a curious egg was left behind. The egg was taken by Beckett of the Krymenian academy, along with a living specimen of the rare species, with promises of further study forthcoming...

Penned by My hand on the 4th of Chronos, in the year 766 AF.