Bog Wader

If caught in normal combat, the bog wader relies on its formidable claws and its bite attack. However, the bog wader’s more deadly attack centers around its self-made trap. The bog wader hollows out a wallow in muddy flats into which water will collect. The creature then chews mud and mixes it with its saliva. The saliva contains a lighter-than-water substance that, when mixed with the mud, causes the mixture to float on the top of the water, covering and disguising the wallow as normal, harmless muddy terrain. An unsuspecting creature will step into the bog wader’s trap and fall into the wallow. Once the trap is sprung, the bog wader hurls itself upon its victim, attempting to impale it on the bones which grow through its skin. If successful the creature and victim are locked together. While its victim is impaled, the bog wader will try and wrap its arms and legs around the arms or legs of its victim to keep him from swimming up for air. All the while it will flap its dorsal ridges and try to drive its victim to the bottom of the wallow. If the bog wader gains the bottom, it will use its feet to dig in and hold its prey there until drowned. Under certain circumstances mated male and female bog waders will link their wallows with a small tunnel. Then they can either attack in tandem or split their attacks, attempting to surprise an individual or group that has fallen into one wallow by attacking from behind from the other wallow through the tunnel.

Each bog wader lives in agony within its own watery pit. The bones that protrude from its skin cause them constant pain, which is one of the reasons the creature is so fierce. The skin of the creature needs almost constant moisture and will dry and crack quickly when exposed to direct sunlight. When moving about the flats, the creature constantly coats itself with fresh mud in order to keep its skin moist. During particularly dry spells, the bog wader’s hole may dry out. In these cases, the bog wader can burrow to the bottom of its drying hole and become dormant. While the sun bakes its home to hard clay around it, the bog wader remains barely alive beneath the earth, waiting patiently for new moisture. Once the bog becomes muddied again, the creature slowly regains its consciousness and mobility, a process that takes anywhere from one day to a week. Fresh watering holes may already have a near dormant bog wader in them, one that won’t attack anyone for several days. A bog wader can remain dormant in the dried mud for up to 20 years. Female bog waders bellow to attract males during mating season, and the males are unable or unwilling to resist the call. Male bog waders commonly fight to the death for the right to sire offspring. Once a year the female gives birth to a single offspring or (rarely) twins. The male is charged with raising the offspring until it is able to take care of itself. Otherwise, the bog wader is a solitary creature.

Bog waders are a deadly source of water. Although they create holes where fresh water collects, it is dangerous business to attempt to take advantage of water stored there. Many creatures are drawn to the water, and the bog wader, for its own reasons, allows certain creatures to drink unmolested. They provide little else in the way of usable goods or commodities on Athas. Some more intelligent creatures trap bog waders for their own purposes. Some slave tribes, for instance, capture bog waders and relocate them to man-made water holes around their villages or important fortifications. They supply the bog waders with living prey to keep them from moving on, and help keep the bog comfortably moist for its deadly occupant. Bog waders are intelligent enough to know that they serve a defensive purpose for their captors, but are for the most part inclined to accept their hospitality. Thri-kreen have been known to use dormant bog waders to foul the water supplies of their enemies. Using subtle psionics, they locate buried bog waders and then dig them up. As long as the creature is kept dry, it does not come out of its dormant state. Several such creatures are then snuck into enemy ponds and watering holes. Within a week the thri-kreen can expect multiple casualties among their unsuspecting enemies.