Wildlife of Earthdawn -- Venom Frog

Now here, my trusty readers, is a tale to strike fear into the hearts of any adventurer. It is the tale of how a small, inoffensive looking animal brought the fiercest band of adventurers to their knees. It all began on misty night several moons ago in an uncharted swamp on the flood plains of the Serpent River.

A group of fearless adventurers were trudging their way through the swamps trying to outrun a pursuing group of Obsidimen from whom they had stolen a bounty of jewels. Ahead of their pursuers by only an hour or so, they decided to get ahead by a shortcut through the stinking, misty swamps that lay along the river. The going was tough and they spent many hours struggling through swarms of biteme flies and dense clumps of rushes. After several hours they stopped to rest for a while, striking up a fire and boiling some water. The silence of the swamp struck the adventurers like a wet fish. The air hung as still as the sail of a becalmed airship. All that could be heard were very strange, high pitched whooping sounds, the like of which these brave heroes had never heard. Whilst preparing a hot beverage, one member of the party left the group to answer the call of nature. Half an hour or so passed and the adventurer had not returned. Getting concerned, another group member set out to follow his footprints which oozed out of the wet mud like maggots out of rotting meat. In a clearing he came upon his friends body lying face down in a clump of rushes. Aghast with shock he turned over the body and then let out a scream of sheer terror. The face of his friend had completely dissolved away leaving only a few fatty lumps of flesh and a detached retina, hanging from the socket of the skull. Sitting in what used to be the mouth was a stunningly beautiful frog. It was dappled fluorescent orange and red, with piercing blue eyes. Entranced by the frog, he reached out to pick it up. As he did, he felt a spurt of sticky liquid hit his face. His skin started steaming and he screamed in sheer pain as his skin dissolved off his face in thick lumps. The last thing he knew was his flesh dropping to the ground in a loud thud.

Responding to the cries of terror, the rest of the group raced to the scene. Whilst trying to make sense off the situation they too felt wet lumps of fluid strike their bodies. After several minutes of screaming and the soft patter of dripping flesh, it was all over. The swamp returned to silence again. Well almost, apart from the low whooping of the venom frogs as they proceeded to hungrily lap up the digested flesh of their victims before contentedly returning to the dense rushes to lie in wait for their next victim . . .

And that my listeners is the story of the venom frog. A stunningly deadly creature!

Take care.

Azril Darkspell,
Nethermancer and Ecologist.

Vital Statistics

Name: Venom Frog (Amphibiensis terribilis)
Diet: Any flesh it can get its tongue into.
Appearance: Stunning blend of fluorescent red and orange, with piercing blue eyes.
Method of Prey Capture: Spits venom from a special venom sac in the throat. The venom is a potent necrotic fluid, rapidly digesting flesh and skin, turning it into a rich organic soup which the frog then ingests.
Call: Whoop, whoop (soft call)
Breeding Habits: Unknown. Thought to involve rapid and risky copulation.
Status: Restricted to the swamps of the Serpent River.

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