Once the sail of the Keleshite ship slips away beneath the horizon, life in Haven returns to the bustle of labor and cooperation that characterizes the frontier. As usual, your own efforts prove to be a mainstay in the community, ensuring that everyone is able to pull their own weight and then some. The time Mia dedicates to brewing her potions is an especially invaluable investment as, despite the often foul taste of the concoctions, they help settlers stave off fevers, headaches, and nausea that might otherwise leave them unable to contribute.
In the days following the Keleshites' visit, the highlight of the week is a spot of rainy weather coming off the sea. Gray clouds bring drizzles, but thankfully not another deluge. Unfortunately, this streak of peace is unsettled when you are again summoned by Viscount Aristide - this time to address a troubling development.
"I rue whenever I must summon you with ill tidings rather than celebration," Aristide begins, clearly worried by whatever is on his mind. "Sparing any more preamble, there is one or more predators that must be hunted. Overnight, three whole oxen were taken, leaving little but blood, fur, and fragments of bone behind. The timing is especially poor. Our people's families will be joining us in less than a week, and yet such a voracious hunger now preys upon us."
Wondering, and then getting hints from Soraya, Dorick gets ideas.
"You certainly are spirited, Captain al-Shirin. I look forward to your return."
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"Whose oxen has been seized? We will of course put a timely end to this predation."
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Kalig frowns at the news about the oxen. "Let me see where it happened. We need to learn more about what did this."
If she is shown where the remains were found, she examines the "crime scene" carefully -- for prints, scat, markings upon the bones, etc. -- to see if she can figure out what kind of creature might have done this.
Dorick lends what aid he can to Kalig's initial search.
Four dozen stout oxen accompanied the caravan of settlers eastward, pulling the heavily laden wagons. Upon arrival and once the stacks of lumber and stone were distributed, Viscount Aristide divided the lion's share of the herd among the farmers and herders of Haven, as well as bequeathing a few to Lord d'Beranza, Harcourb, and the new town's resident carpenter and mason.
"The three oxen belonged to Gerla Hadondottir. She was a first generation Ulfen immigrant to Galt, but it was not long before her parents fell to the mob. Gerla's plight moved me, hence why I recruited her for the expedition. Now this has befallen her," Aristide groans, briefly rubbing his forehead. "It is a terrible shame."
When led to the scene of the attack, Kalig immediately makes several key observations. A large, roughly circular patch of disturbed earth, about twenty feet across, sits at the center of the attack. At first glance, it appears as though the ground collapsed, as though by a small sinkhole. However, a more thorough examination reveals a shower of dirt clods and small stones across a wider area, suggesting that something exploded outward from beneath the surface.
Kalig looks around the disturbed earth... "Something came from underneath... that's not good." She walks around, looking at indentations in the ground and shredded grass and the like, tripping over Dorick at one point as she focuses on her effort. After a seemingly too long period of time, she points out deep indentations with claws. "Four-footed. Heavy, five claws. It had to have moved quick to have gotten all three--otherwise while it focused on the first the others would have been able to run. Hmm...."
She stops to think about what it might be.
Mia is sighs at the sight, nature can be so cruel at times, and down right scary.
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"Ooo, large subterranean creature. Yeesh." She shivers to think of the oxen's slaughter. "We might need to prepare for something like this. Perhaps we could set some sort of trap."
Even though it is more a magical beast than a creature of nature, Kalig's knowledge of predators bears fruit. The apparent hunger, the ferocity of the attack, the nature of the tracks, and the clear signs of monstrous burrowing lead her to a single, worrying conclusion.
This is, indeed, the work of the bulette - the terrible predator of the plains commonly known as a land shark.
Thankfully, such creatures tend to be territorial and remain solitary, so there is little chance of there being more than one of these ravenous beasts nearby. However, the prospect of having the creature select this as a regular feeding ground - or worse, breeding ground - is a very unwelcome prospect.
"Mmm. Can only be a land shark. Bad news. Probably the centaur wars drove it from bison to hunt to easy prey like our oxen. Still, it's us or it." Kalig then suddenly chuckles. "Sorry, this is a serious matter. But I remember a tale from a town in Ustalav, that was home to a small school of magic--mostly hedge mages more than anything. Bandits were terrorizing the town by driving a bulette toward them, and of course it was wreaking havoc upon the town's shepherds and their flock. The magic school's apprentices used simple cantrips to make the bandits smell and sound like sheep instead, and bulette and bandits were dealt with in one blow."
"I am very unsure as to whether something like that would work--but the point is Soraya's probably right--best to be clever than try to confront it head on--or at least save the frontal assault for plan B. The good news these creatures are generally solitary. The bad news is they do mate on occasion, and we need to be sure there's no breeding ground around here."
Well that could be a big concern. Can you tell if the Bulette is full grown or still a youngster? It could be well beyond our current capabilities
He scowled when he heard the news and for a moment lifted the hilt of his rapier up and glanced down at the thin peice of steel.
"A land shark eh? That sounds unpleasant at best. Not sure how useful this'll be, but all we can do is try. As for Gerla, well we will all have to pitch in and help her out. Communitys like this only as strong as the weakest person I think eh?"
He began hiding a frown and his concern behind words. A good look at his eyes would have said otherwise, concern held court there.
"without further information, I'd assume the worst, Seraphina. Since you apparently know something about them, perhaps you can suggest how we can trap it, because no matter our capabilities versus its own, we are all that stands between it and destroying our livestock. And if our livestock are destroyed, we lose food, fertilizer, and heavy labor, and the settlement is doomed. So we will take useful suggestions as to what to do. Anyone who prefers to run and hide and leave the town to its fate can so so now and get out of our way."
Dorick nods grimly.
"If you can trick it into showing itself, my lance and Caragus' hooves will tear into its hide. But I confess, I cannot fight that which I cannot see or reach."
"Soraya's idea of a trap is sound. We need to secure the oxen somewhere where it is hard to reach... Perhaps on of those big stone ramps that it can't burrow into. Then for bait, maybe Mia and I could summon some suitable prey. Or... Silly though my story might be, some kind if convincing effigy. Some meat wrapped in hide, enhanced with a little magic. But where and how to pen it in..."
Mia's face goes pale, She had read of these creatures, larger than a horse, and much more deadly. How where they to stop it?
Stop it, we managed to kill several undead big as a horse, one bulette surely can't be much worse.. she thinks to herself.
At the talk of a trap, Mia mumbles something with shaking knees.
I... I um.. well I can, that is.. er I could actually, uh, become, an animal, though the thought of being bait for a bulette terrifies me, even if there is other food for it to go after.. I... I know they aren't overly intelligent, but their armor is like steel, and their claws more deadly than most blades. It may be best to try and trap it, than to fight it if possible... If the the latter is a must, then I will see what help I can do with my potions when the time comes as well.
"How smart are they?" Soraya wonders out loud. "Is there a way we can use the terrain to our advantage? Like luring it to a place where it might have to contend with other deadly creatures, or perhaps even lure it over a cliff's edge."
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"How smart are they?" Soraya wonders out loud. "Is there a way we can use the terrain to our advantage? Like luring it to a place where it might have to contend with other deadly creatures, or perhaps even lure it over a cliff's edge."
"Well if we are thinking about bait is there a way to just poison the meat and let that do the work for us? I dont know how much of something foul it would take but i'd vote for that if it were an option."
"I do not love the idea of using poison. But this is a beast that will doom Haven if we do not stop it. So I will not object."
"I like the idea, but these beasties are large and tough... it'd need to be powerful. Soraya, Mia, you're the concoction makers, you think you could come up with something tough enough? If not to kill it, at least to make it sleepy or disoriented so we could take it out more easily?"
Mia bites her knuckle for a bit before speaking. I...I maybe could help, though most of my ingredients and knowledge pertains to things meant to stall or stop poisons, or aid in overcoming sickness and strengthening people. Creating poisons would certainly be a new field for me... I can however make potions to boost peoples abilities. If.. If that would help....
Mia looks around slightly nervous, she wasn't sure if she wanted to actually make poisons.
"It was just a thought, mostly the idea of going against something that large thats under the groud well frightens me. Do you think any of our uh.. rougher allies might have knowledge of such concoctions? If not no worries like I said just an idea."
"We could well to ask them. They may know of such things."
Kalig says, "I'll go talk to the leshys. They may be aware of toxic plants or fungi we can make use of."
Kalig's knowledge of these creatures attests that although they are quite hardy, they possess no particular immunity to poison or disease.
Visiting the ziggurat, Kalig also learns that the leshys have seen such "land sharks" in the region. The bulettes never come close to the ziggurat, so they've only seen them from a distance. They aren't sure if it is simply the same creature returning on a seasonal feeding migration or if there are multiple specimens with overlapping territory.
When the bison herds graze near the other ruins, they leshys have seen the bulette erupt from the ground to seize one of the animals and savage it before eating.
Contacting the locathah would require sending an emissary to the beach and attempting to attract the attention of one of their scouts. Meanwhile, in Haven, your own settlers can offer some input as well.
Fendir indicates that one of his wives, Brekka, knows a recipe for a poison that they would use on large beasts where they originally dwelt. However, they have no knowledge of how effective it would be upon a land shark.
Harkan One-Arm, though, informs you that his kin have had to previously defend their old homestead, the ruined dwarven outpost, against such creatures. Owing to their limited numbers, the orc-kin never dared fight a bulette on the occasion one would be drawn by their meager herd of animals. However, over the past seasons of their exile, they have developed a "musk" made from ingredients derived from their pigs, local plants, and the orcs' own "contributions" that has proven somewhat effective in warding off bulettes.
"Of course, we were only ever guarding a handful of pigs," Harkan explains. "I make no promise that it would keep a hungry land shark from a feast of this size," he says, gesturing his one arm towards Haven, its animals, and its people.
Dorick thinks.
"Harkan, did this...musk help keep the bulette from attacking your warriors?"
"Mmm, that's a good idea. If it's not wearable maybe we could use it to at least help drive it toward the trap. If anyone has actually come up with an idea of what that could look like."
Mia comes to the others, a strange and crazy idea on her mind that just might work.
I have, um. I uh... have a potion, that um.. allows the one who uses it to breath water, however, they are... uh... made unable to breath air. Perhaps this could work in dealing with the bullette? If we place this potion in some food we leave out for it. If things go well, it would... um. well, suffocate? It... a horrible way for any creature to die... but I suppose no worse than poison. Or any other death really..
"Now we're talking. And unpleasant though it may be, better it than we be slaughtered by it or,we die a slow death to starvation because of the damage it causes to our farms. We could get Francois to treat the bait-meat with something to mask the potion's scent."
Dorick looks at Mia - and grins broadly.
"That is a keen suggestion, Mia!"
"Thats ingenious actually. "
He added on to the others praise with a sincere smile.
"It's liable to do some terrible thrashing about as it dies of course, but if we stake the bait far enough away from anything of import it should be fine."
"We'd spread the musk around the pig pen and around our home, and it kept the land sharks from eating the pigs, Harkan explains. "I had one warrior, Yulik, defy my orders by spreading the musk upon himself and setting out to hunt one of the beasts. We only found his foot the next night, so I would say the musk does not work when worn."
The orc-kin leader is impressed by the stratagem suggested by Mia, and even more so when Kalig adds her insight.
"A cunning idea, my blood sister. And to you, as well," he says to the druidic pair, nodding his head in assent. "In my time, I've seen far too many young braves die trying to win glory and honor by throwing themselves into battle against such beasts. I no longer see the worth in such things. It is better to protect what you have."
"No musk on ourselves. Brilliant!", says Dorick with altogether obvious relief.
"I'm also pretty happy about this plan. Mia, would two potions be enough? This thing sounds pretty tough."
"So we can surround the oxen with the musk, and that will make our bait look more attractive by comparison."
Mia pauses, and thinks for a moment.
um...One potion should be enough, however... two may be wanted incase the creature manages to resist the magic of the first. Though, I think that would require the bullette to eat one, then the other. They would need to be separate doses. I honestly do not know if coating the meat will ruin the effects of the magic. I have never tried it before.
"You could probably just leave a whole vial inside the meat. I doubt the bulette will pick through it's meal. They seem to snatch and grab."
"I think we just shove the bottles inside the meat. They do not sound like picky eaters!"
"well then, lets gather what we need and get going, monsters not gonna kill itself?"
He muttered though certainly looked a bit more relieved now that they had a pretty good plan to use against the monster.
"I'll talk to the farmers about herding the oxen into a safe space that we can surround with the musk. Can you all set up the meat trap?"
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