Curiously, the strange growing sinkers found across the land appear to
be affected by some mysterious ailment, causing them to first solidify
and then explode into numerous glowbats! As if this wasn't peculiar
enough, the ailment causes the sinkers to become stunted in their
growth, leaving them small and devoid of the tangled threads...

Six researchers have made it known that they have an interest in
studying these glowbats, one for each city or commune. But for those who
wish to conduct fieldwork for them, take note: the manner in which you
collect the glowbats for your respective researcher will have an impact
upon the research conducted! Delivering dead specimens to your
researcher may allow them to disect and otherwise experiment upon the
corpses, but delivering living glowbats provides the opportunity to
observe and glowbat and its habits. What useful knowledge might be
gleaned from each path?

And how might you gather these glowbats, you might ask? If you're
interested in expanding your options beyond punching and kicking the
glowbats, talk to a researcher about what WARES they have to aide you.
You can find researchers in the following places:

In New Celest, Bubbllosh Feilm can be found in the shop 'Light's
Holdings'.
In Magnagora, Vittoria d'Lardick can be found in the laboratories
beneath the Zoo.
In Serenwilde, Mapee Thistlefur can be found in the laboratories on the
top floor of the Woodbine Lyceum.
In Glomdoring, Kiyan Darkeye can be found in the altar to the Wyrd.
In Hallifax, Belwen Manchova can be found in the laboratory of the
Natural Sciences and Higher Energies.
In Gaudiguch, Issrah Miim can be found just outside the commodities
cache.

There are four methods by which you can catch or kill the glowbats, and
they may produce different research results cumulatively based on what
most people do in your organisation. You can kill the glowbats with
whatever skills you have. With nets, you can CATCH GLOWBATs to provide
living specimens! Or, if your schedule does not permit too much time in
the field, you can buy TRAPs and CAGEs, which can be DROPped to catch
specimens, providing your researcher with another avenue of study. If
you go the route of traps or cages, be sure to place them near where you
expect glowbats to congregate!

In the month of August, there will be a daily quest to catch at least 20
glowbats. Please note that these can be spread over handing in corpses,
catching them with nets, or leaving out cages and traps for them to
unwittingly fly into. And doing the daily quest for 21 days out of the
month will land you a free present! You may use QUESTEVENT to track your
progress towards the prize.

And for those wondering what is going on with with all these sinkers and
threads and bats (oh my!), perhaps the researchers will be able to
provide some insight at the end of the month. Like all research, though,
what answers they have to provide to your organization will depend on
which of the four paths the research takes in your organization! To make
sure you're up-to-date on your own commune or city's progress, ask your
researcher for a status report (even via tells from afar!).

Penned by My hand on the 17th of Vestian, in the year 508 CE.