Short Eared Fox

Reports of an odd fox with short, almost stumpy ears have begun to circulate in the region around Stormfort. At first, people thought it was the same fox every time it was sighted until a ranger confirmed seeing several at once in the forest below the Great Falls. Previously no such breed of the fox was known to live in the region. It was thought that they may be a regional adaptation due to the noise; the foxes wouldn't be able to rely on their hearing and the persistent mist might cause infections of the ear. Foxes with smaller ears may simply live longer.
However, some have been sighted as far east as the Parus Barren, well away from the damp forest below the great cliff. These foxes lay flat using what little vegetation there is to hide as they wait for mice to reveal themselves and their burrows. The fox will then pounce on the mice, and after their meal dig up the nest to get at the small pools of water trapped in the winding tunnels.
It is not yet known where the foxes originated from, nor why they are spreading or migrating. Someone familiar with Tenne Runegust's research into the labyrinth has said that there is mention of foxes with short ears in her traveling journals, but not within the papers concerning the labyrinth. That has been taken to mean, that these foxes are not found around the labyrinth, for whatever reason. That being understood, the region around Stormfort is greatly riddled with ruins and openings that lead into the labyrinth. If it is true that these foxes avoid areas where the labyrinth is active, then the change in activity in the region is what allowed the foxes to return. This does not bode well for the Stormfort Adventurers' Guild which has already been losing adventurers to more active cities.