The cork board appears cluttered with various parchments and notices, each vying for attention. There are flyers advertising local events, as well as several handwritten notes, some with an air of urgency, scribbled in haste and pinned with a sense of desperation. Behind the cork board you hear strange scratching noises coming from the closet.
As you examine the cork board, you notice a wide variety of postings, ranging from requests for adventurers to route a pack of monsters from a local forest to notices for upcoming festivals and events. Some of the postings catch your eye, such as a bounty posting for a giant spider infestation and a wizard seeking rare components for a powerful spell. A torn wanted poster grabs your attention as well:
As you approach the closet, the strange scratching noises stop. The closet door appears to be made of wood and is set into the wall. Only a few feet tall, it has a simple brass knob which you can try opening here.
The door suddenly springs open, but you manage to keep your cool! A strange creature stares menacingly at you, its piercing eyes glowing in the dim light. Its sleek fur is long and brown. It’s wearing some sort of collar.
You lock eyes with the creature, wracking your brain to figure out what it could be. You’ve seen a fair number of winged cats, but as to what might be native to this land… As you consider the possibilities, the creature shifts, and you have just a moment of warning as its pupils dilate to black disks before launching itself off its perch, nearly colliding with your head. It swoops up towards the ceiling, where it begins to make wide, arcing circles around the dragon skull.
Suddenly, it hits you! The markings on the wings and the short bobbed tail give it away! This is a grimalkin!
You dig around in your pockets, finding a few stray feathers and some twine. It doesn’t take long before you have a little bobbin toy. A few swings of the little feathered doodad, and the grimalkin dives close enough for you to grab it! It squirms in your arms, but with a few scritches under the chin the winged feline settles down. You’re now able to get a close look at the collar around its neck!
You release the grimalkin and it quickly darts back into the closet, the door slamming shut behind it.
