📗Compendium | 6: Quillworm
by Acclaimed Interstellar Survival-Exploration Entrepreneur and Nature Documentarian Sir Davis Astenbarrow
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📗A Compendium of Beasts, Bugs, and Botany
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📗A Compendium of Beasts, Bugs, and Botany
The Explorer’s Guide to Surface Life
Quillworm
Explorer’s Guide Contribution Written By Acclaimed Interstellar Survival-Exploration Entrepreneur and Nature Documentarian Sir Davis Astenbarrow
While there are far more dangerous fauna lurking in every body of water and teeming over seemingly every square foot of landmass on Surface, what the Quillworm lacks in might it makes up for in sheer determination.
Despite we Earthlings obviously not being from around here, the Quillworm finds human blood to be a rare delicacy worthy of serious attention and pursuit. Its usual diet consists of primarily young, undeveloped Octopiders that haven’t learned to fear this deadly worm.
Many biologists have speculated that some of the longer barbs covering its half-meter-long body function as antennae, or even perhaps serve an olfactory function—this latter speculation is driven by the animal’s ability to track and follow its prey over long distances.
When these caterpillar-like creatures pick up the scent of humans, they become single-minded. Even armor-clad adventurers ought to be wary of this slow, yet relentless pursuit! These are often solitary creatures which instinctually avoid other wormkind after birth. The first of a clutch of Quillworm eggs to hatch, if they’re lucky, can find prey not far from their spawning site and pupate within hours or days of hatching and allowing their spines to fully unfurl and harden.
But until it feeds, a young Quillworm will not pupate. While there have been no officially documented cases of this, many allege that once a Quillworm catches a human’s scent, it will not feed on anything else and will spend its entire life cycle of several weeks starving in search of our blood.
Yet don’t let that keep you away! Fear not, loyal readers, and simply find your way to the “Repellants & Bait” section of your local Asten-Mart™! That will keep these dogged little bloodsuckers right where you need them—far away from you.
— Sir Davis Astenbarrow —
Captured from the internal monologue of Harvester Wes Jackson:
I remember exactly the way the quillworm bloated up on one end and then burst, its orange-brown guts oozing through Chavos’ gauntleted fingers before he flung its corpse off into the jungle.
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