Scorpion's Pond

Ah yes, Scorpion's Pond, probably about as close as one can get to the deadly ethereal beauty of the Fae realms while still on our plane. Also, the scorpions taste wonderful grilled up with a bit of salt.

— Jasper Cameron, Leader of the Bronze Ravens

The following conversation was recorded by three separate Epson Quills in the early days of the Ironstead Outbreak of 3781 the names of the scholars were, sadly, not recorded. As with many records transcribed from epson quill writings, we have done our best to separate the conversation to be more readable:

1 - I'm telling you it is an impossibility. Everything we know about the sciences tells us that Scorpion's Pond must have been artificially created.
2 - That why I keep saying we should bring in the dwarf. No one is more familiar with geology. I still think it could be an ancient clay deposit, or even a near fully eroded crater lake, fed by an under ground--
1 - Not this again! There is simply no evidence to support the crater lake theory. There should be some volcanic rock visible, or at least able to be located near the border of the lake. But --there-- --is-- --none--. There is in fact NO evidence in the region of ANY volcanic activity. Have you been breathing the swamp gasses you claim to study again?!
2 - This has nothing to do with my research into the swamp's gasses and you know it, I am simply positing other theories besides "magic did it" when there is no evidence to support that. AT ALL. but if you insist on insulting me then--
3 - Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. Let us just agree to bring in the dwarf. He can give us a better insight to the substrate in the area. That will prove you both wrong and we can go back to my theory that it is the plants that are responsible for both the fog and the freshness fo the water in the lake.
1 - You and your plants again. Unless you can explain why these plants are so localized within the mangrove then nothing is actually explained, we just have more anomalies and further questions.
3/2 - Bold words from someone who want to explain everything with "magic" or "the gods just made it that way..." BOOOOOOOONG!
3 - i'm telling you the leaves show -- BOOOOOOOONG!
1/2 - but that still doesn't explain why the species of the pond haven't sp -- BOOOOOOOONG!

This excert is also notable as it is the first known espon quill writing that used onomotapia to record environmental sounds, in this case, the ringing of the lunch bells at the Ironstead College of Lore.

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The name, of course, comes from the species that is not found anywhere outside the borders of the Pond. An aquatic scorpion that often sits submerged on the underside of lilly-pads, roots, or fallen branches waiting for prey to pass above it (or below it) before striking with its deadly stinger. For most creatures, this is overkill, as a single sting can put down even a dwarf, to say nothing creatures without their natural resistance to poisons and venoms.
Fortunate this is for the scorpions, as while they have very sensitive antenna, theri sight is not so good, and so often they kill prey bigger than a single scorpion can eat. This can lead to a little bit of a frenze, as the splashing of a larger creature succumbing to the poison attracts not just other scorpions, but scavengers of all sorts, looking to benefit from another creatures misfortune.

The Tragedy of Prince Septimus IV

I mean, we dont really know for sure that it was an accident, but yes the death of the nearly universally beloved Prince Septimus did occur at Scorpion's Pond. What drove the prince to land his griffon there no one will ever know.
His griffon returned 2 days late, alone. When it lead a rescue squad to the pond it was already too late. I will not go into details about the condition that they found his body in, but I'm sure you can imagine what 2 days submerged in scavenger filled waters will do to a corpse.
Rumors persist that a nymph or siren lured the prince to his death, although no evidence of this has ever been found. These rumors initially were quelled, but over the years as several of the rescue party went missing one by one with no official report ever found explaining their death, retirement, or transfer the rumors have gained new ground in recent years.