Recently I was given the chance to inspect a number of those creatures commonly known to our kind as melts, when three of said mutants were captured during a raiding party attack near the Seasreach mountains. I studied these misshapen creatures in the name of scientific research, but also with great interest, and with even more care - as all three were of foul temperament and not exactly the most willing of subjects.
The first - like the others - was essentially based upon the general form of a tall human male, and heavily built - as are the majority of melt-kind. His skin was coarse as sand, with tough yellowish hair sprouting in clumps in several places over his body: his face was malformed - reptilian almost, covered in large heavy scales - and with bright orange eyes, and a characteristically forked tongue - in fact remarkably similar to our own sneep lizards, after which I gave this creature his name.
The second of them, smallest of the three at six feet in height, was of similar build, but perhaps less transfigured - at least facially - although he bore a mouthful of tiny, needle-like teeth and his feet were cloven instead of toed: this one I named simply Hoof.
Of the trio, however, the last of the creatures was certainly the most fearsome, not least because he was the largest of the group at nearly seven feet and with surely the densest musculature possible stacked upon his considerable frame. His face added to his horrific appearance, the flesh having been apparently eaten away (by what phenomena I know not) to leave the naked musculo-skeletal structure beneath - a truly awful sight to behold upon a living creature.
This melt appeared to be the leader - of his present peers, at least - and as well as the indecipherable remarks he directed towards his brethren, he was also able to communicate - albeit a little falteringly at first - with myself, telling me that his name was Djimir, and that he was of the Tasa-kir tribe.
As I have said, all three were of hardy constitution and physically very strong, but with the exception of the comparatively brilliant Djimir, remarkably slow in intellect - reacting with violence to almost any stimulus, and snapping instinctively at anything resembling food - including myself.
It seemed to me that they were creatures of pure instinct rather than reasoned thought, possessing the basic senses needed for hunting, partnered with an apparent need to kill, and a seemingly inexhaustible hunger. The exceptional Djimir, however, gave more promising responses and indeed seemed to possess a mental ability somewhat beyond more ordinary intelligence, as it was apparent that he could to some extent predict my own thoughts and actions.
Without obvious reason, the one I had named Hoof died suddenly after four days in captivity. An autopsy showed that his whole body had become riddled with black growths that were obviously at least a part of the cause. Sneep died two days later with the same symptoms: Djimir could give no explanation, other than that he had heard such things had been said to have happened before when his kind had been taken captive.
On the seventh day following the melts' arrival at my laboratory, I made a new discovery - that whatever disease had caused their mutations was somewhat contagious - on the same day my fur began to fall out in pawfuls, the skin beneath having become blotched and grey; on the morning of the eighth day I found horny lumps beginning to protrude from my back along the ridge of my spine: at the same time I saw there that a certain greening of the skin had taken hold, which must have begun a few days previously but gone unnoticed, having spread now across my shoulders and towards my chest. Within the next two days the lumps along my back had erupted through the skin as sharpened spines, the column of my backbone now twisted and swollen, forcing me into a crooked stoop. What little fur remained on my body was now silver-white, while the whole of my right side was now naked and grey; and several of my teeth had twisted and elongated into the beginnings of misshapen tusks. Strangest of all perhaps was the fact that I experienced not the slightest pain throughout the course of this strange transformation.
On day twelve, the green colour faded from my skin, shortly after which Djimir finally succumbed to the same fate as his fellows. For myself I knew that I could no longer remain safely in the civilised world, so I made the decision to depart for the meltlands and perhaps extend my research among those I now more closely resembled.
I leave this as a warning to others, in the hope that the learned may make some use of it and avoid my uncertain fate befalling themselves and others.
Daavyd Bearabee
Daavyd Bearabee, Scientist of Gatehouse