Leoric Baines
(a.k.a. Old Sturgeon)
Leoric "Old Sturgeon" Baines has spent eight decades hauling nets from Moonshadow Lake's mercurial waters. His weathered face, mapped with deep lines and adorned with a flowing white beard, bears witness to a lifetime of observation. His callused hands never seem to be still, constantly mending nets, tying knots, or gesturing emphatically when recounting his countless tales.
Baines claims to have seen something stirring beneath the water—a massive presence that disturbs neither surface nor fish, yet moves with deliberate purpose through the lake's deepest regions. He refuses to speak of it unless properly convinced, requiring either significant payment, rare fishing supplies, or proof that the inquirer possesses genuine respect for the lake's mysteries. Once persuaded, his description becomes both precise and confounding: "Bigger than the academy's main hall, it glows from within like moonlight trapped in glass. Not living as we understand it, but aware—aware and waiting. Been there as long as I've known these waters, always moving in the same pattern, like it's searching or guarding something beneath."
Academy scholars generally dismiss Baines as a superstitious old fool, yet certain faculty members—particularly those specializing in arcane history—have been observed spending evenings at his modest cabin, deep in conversation. Students who mention these visits in academic settings are firmly redirected to "more productive lines of inquiry."
Despite his advanced age, Baines possesses uncanny physical vitality and mental acuity. Some whisper that the lake itself sustains him, granting unnaturally long life to its most dedicated observer. Others suggest more sinister explanations—that whatever dwells in the depths has claimed him in some fundamental way, preserving him for purposes unknown.
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