Siccee

Origin
The Siccee is a spirit that comes from Novastonian Folklore. Though nobody remembers it's real name, they know it's story. Many years ago, just after the founding of Novastonia, a miner had gone to work early in the morning. While on his way to the mine, a group of wealthy teens followed and harassed him. They eventually chased him into the mine, where they proceeded to beat him to the point of death. Over the following weeks, the teens involved began to disappear. The locals blamed it on bandits, which had become quite common in the area, none the less, the noble families of the teens put out a large reward for their safe return.

A few weeks later, miners had discovered an odd vein of ore, which none could identify. After digging into the vein, they discovered a small cave, in which they discovered the bodies of the teens. To this day, nobody could explain how the teens came to rest in that cave.

Lore
The tale of The Siccee has spread far beyond the borders of Novastonia. To some, the spirit has been known to bring great fortune, and to others, a deathly demise.

The Siccee has been known to lead miners to valuable veins of diamond and netherite ore. It does this by knocking on the walls of caves and strip mines, following the knocks will eventually lead you to the valuable ore. Its tradition to leave a small part of the vein untouched, as a giving of thanks to The Siccee.

For some, they have not been so lucky. The Siccee is also known as a trickster, and sometimes downright violent. Often, equipment will be moved or go missing, this is the least of you're worries. The Siccee is also easily provoked, and even the smallest of taunts will send it into a rage, attacking and on occasion killing its victims by throwing rocks and using its claws to cut into them. However, it can be even more sinister. It is said that The Siccee will cause cave-ins on miners, others say it warms of them. Ether way, many say that before cave-ins, it can be heard making rhythmic tapping noises and whistling old mining tunes. Taking notice of these signs can mean the difference between life and death.

Many miners give offerings to The Siccee, so it will bring them good fortune, by leading them to ores and riches. Others do this so they will be provided safety and forgiveness from The Siccee, fearing the possible provocation of its rage. The traditional offering is a Whisky bottle and a miner's daily wage every week, placed in the farthest corner of the mine. This is the practice of both large-scale mining companies and small teams.

Sightings
The following is an excerpt from the diary of Sergeant Johnathan Adams, a constable of a small mining settlement who had a close run-in with The Siccee.

''It was a cold December evening, I was enjoying a nice beer in Sohpie's Tavern before a woman ran up to me frantically, saying that her son had wandered into the mine and none of the miners could find him. I figured that he had just found a hiding place in the mine, there were plenty of small holes and crevasses he could have crawled into. So, I grabbed Bob and Sean and together we headed to the mineshaft.''

''When we arrived, Ole Carl was already waiting for us. He told us that they had been searching for hours, but they had no luck finding the boy. He handed us all a few lanterns and we headed into the mine. We asked if there was anywhere they hadn't searched, and he told us that they didn't search beyond the properly excavated areas, he said a kid couldn't have been able to get so deep. So, me, Bob, Sean, and Carl all made our way there.''

Soon enough, we had gotten so deep that I had to crawl in some places.

''Then, we heard it. Tap, Titty tap, Tap, Titty tap''

''We all thought it was the kid, so we made our way towards it. We were met with a wall of stone. Still, the tapping continued. The whistling soon began, it was an old miner's tune. I had heard them before in the tavern and on the streets. It made Carl freak out, he practically pulled us out of there. When we were out, I was red hot, I had no idea why he would make us leave, we were so close to finding the kid.''

''Minutes later, the mine caved in. Nobody was hurt, but a few days later they found the body of the kid. Damn shame.''