A snail with a burning candle instead of a shell

Location:

Hand of the Dead Lyrist

Phenotype:

Mollusk

Such a small creature, so out of place. A snail who loved the rain more than most, who delighted in tracing with its fleshy, slimy foot labyrinths on wet stone. A snail whose slow and persistent demeanor transformed its worn-house from a mathematically precise and protective shell to a waxen source of light and heat.

What caused this being to stray so far from its home to a land of scorching rocks, skies that have long since forgotten rain, and the unremitting glare of the sun? Has it become lost, or trapped, or does it seek something that the green wetlands of its origin could not offer?

The snail does not speak. It moves extremely slowly during the day, limping between the shadows of rocks. It finds the ground difficult to grasp and painful. At night it would be unnoticeable save for its candlelight, which persists under nearly all conditions.

When slain, drops:

• Three postcards
• A small notebook that appears blank
• A fragment of a seed