Source: http://town.uo.com/bnn/article_533.html

Ophidians Attack!
Saax Pannae Jul 7 2006 7:41PM

Sneaking around and slinking up behind unsuspecting victims, Ophidians have invaded several areas of Britannia and seem to be attacking citizens at random. No pattern has yet been established for who they are attacking or why. According to eye witness reports, the Ophidians seem to be searching for someone in particular, but refuse to say who. Knowledge on why these overgrown snakes are roaming around on the outskirts of our fair towns and villages is scarce, though there may be a connection to the recent rash of missing persons reports originating from the cutpurse community.

Even the well fortified source of most of Britannia’s fighting population isn’t immune from these forays. Serpent’s Hold has reported Ophidians roughing up sketchy looking characters outside of the castle gates, though the snakes have yet to make any attempt to attack the Hold itself. Ophidian behavior is exceedingly difficult to predict, but there is hope that these minor incursions are not an omen of something much worse to come.

Notoriously reclusive, Ophidians are not known for traveling much farther than the mountain pass that leads to their home. Almost all contact with the Ophidians in recent years has been met with violence, as if they are protecting something of great value.

Papua, being the closest human settlement to Ophidian territory, has for years been wary of having the ferocious looking snakes only a short horseback ride away. Lost Lands experts who are native to Papua believe that the Ophidians are not likely to be a major threat unless first provoked, however this recent activity calls that assumption into question. An Ophidian invasion does not yet seem imminent, though the pickpockets of Britannia may not necessarily agree with that assessment.

In any case, BNN will be sure to stay on top of this developing story. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, or even a bunch of overgrown marauding snakes shall keep us from delivering the latest news directly to you.