Beastinger

“And brave Talina went searching for Meredin, her beloved. She journeyed to the realm of the fairies, to break the spell the queen had cast on him. She walked far into the woods, where no human had ever traveled. When night fell, she rested under a rowan tree.
“Please help me,” Talina heard a quiet voice say next to her ear. She looked around and saw no one, so she lay down again. “Please help me,” the little voice said again. Once more Talina looked around, but she could see nobody.
Her heart was brave and good, so she said “I would like to help you. But I cannot see you.”
“I am down here.” Talina looked down and saw a little forest mouse standing on its hind legs. Its hands were raised pleadingly to the girl. “Please help me,” the small animal said again, in a human voice. “We mouselings suffer greatly.” And it began to tell her its story.
—from a fairy tale from the region between the Tommel River and the Great River, compiled by Alfert of Deianisgrove from a battered copy owned by a burgher‘s daughter from Gareth.

Beastingers are fairy creatures that have animal-like shapes. They know the languages spoken by humans and other intelligent creatures in their home region, and their intelligence is roughly equivalent to human levels. They are playful and mischievous, but, like people, their personalities can differ widely.

Beastingers often take the form of small furry animals such as squirrels, mice, or otters. Some people report seeing ones with larger animal shapes, such as badgers and beavers, or aquatic shapes, like frogs, trout, or other fishes. Note that beastingers cannot change their shape—their animal form is part of their being, but no matter what their form, they are neither dangerous nor aggressive.

Many Aventurians know of playful or tricky talking animals from stories and myths, but not all talking fairy-tale animals are beastingers. There is much debate as to whether any beastingers look like pets, such as cats or pigs.

Distribution

Beastingers only live in places with many passages to the fairy realms. Such places exist everywhere in Aventuria, so beastingers can be encountered anywhere on the continent. Their animal shapes match the animals of their home regions. They are especially common in Bornland, the Cyclops’ Islands, and in the forests of Albernia. Many fairy realms are supposed to be populated with beastingers of countless shapes.

Way of Life

Most beastingers are very playful. They spend much of their days pursuing fun and games that suit their animal forms, but they do have somewhat human sides, too.

Most of them walk on their hind legs and have no trouble using human speech. Some have perfect manners, others act as if they were born in a barn. Their behavior towards bipedal creatures is guided by curiosity and playfulness. Unfortunately, they do not really care if long-legs, as they refer to the big folk, approve of their tricks. Beastingers normally practice a “live and let live” philosophy, but when a threat approaches their home, they do what they can to avert it or drive it away. What appears at first to be a cute, talking squirrel can suddenly become a pest that screeches loudly and throws acorns, and a creature initially mistaken for a marmot might steal some important equipment.

Many beastingers watch humans from hiding places they choose mainly for comfort or protection from bad weather. Sometimes they build nests or burrows, like their animal cousins. Unlike other fairy creatures, beastingers do not have to return regularly to the fairy realm, but they are bound to the area in which they live (which can be as large as several square miles or as small as a stand of trees or a small glade).

Beastingers are rarely loners, and tend to be rather gregarious. Heroes might meet only a single specimen at first, but there are almost always friendly animals or other beastingers of the same species in the area.