Puke Worm

"Ewwwwww…"
— an undisciplined High-bred grunt, upon first hearing about the Puke Worm

The puke worm is a creature ranging from roughly a meter in length at smallest to over twenty meters for the most massive specimen recorded. The worm is segmented with a thin outer shell and small, hooked appendages that run the length of the creature and aid it in locomotion. Its coloring is off-white with variegation in browns and greens, ranging from darkest along its underbelly to almost white along its back. This natural camouflage is actually from stains that the beast gathers over time as it transverses the swamps that are its habitat. The head of the worm is a massive lamprey-like mouth containing circular rows of inward curving teeth paired with two sets of flat, black eyes that sit back on top of the worm's head. Much like the earthworm, its remaining length consists almost entirely of stomach and digestive juices — a fact that becomes very dangerous when one realizes how it defends itself.

The puke worm earned its name from its feeding and defense mechanisms. It attacks prey by lashing out with four tentacle appendages that sit deep within its throat. These whip arms are lined with small barbs that pierce flesh, binding up their targets to be dragged into its maw. If the prey is too large, or strong enough to fight the pull of the worm, the worm’s secondary tactic is implemented. The worm will close on its victims and "puke" on them, spraying them with corrosive stomach acids that break down flesh into more digestible sizes… while simultaneously destroying any resistance from the prey creature.

Puke worms are hermaphrodites, possessing both male and female organs while nonetheless requiring another worm to procreate. Each coupling can spawn ten to twenty worms, which emerge from their eggs in a fully-mature state. "Young" puke worms are immediately able to hunt and even mate themselves, but they are thankfully unlikely to do so because of their diminutive size. Instead the worms immediately go their own separate ways, seeking a territory of their own so as not to become prey for the parent or other predators — such as Vrr or even Gree-Gree fishermen. Puke worms have no set cycle of procreation; with the year-round temperate conditions of the swamp, the worms mate whenever they come across another worm too large from them to eat.

The puke worm is an apex predator when it reaches its maximum size, feeding on Vrr and even apoc-crocs that are unfortunate enough to cross its path. Smaller worms provide food for these creatures as well as the Gree-Gree that inhabit the swamps. Another purpose the Gree-Gree hunt the puke worm for is the unique properties of its skin. When the worm dies, the thin outer shell hardens over a brief period of time and develops into a thicker material. Whenever one of the Gree-Grees' hunts are successful, they harvest the shell while it is still malleable — shaping it into desired tools and objects. Once hardened it holds the shape it is set in, shedding the stained outer layer and leaving a beautiful opalescent casing. All manner of things are created from the shell, and some tribes actually gauge their wealth by how many "worm-cast" objects they possess. Armor, weapons, containers, plates, and even skiff hulls are created from the creature’s outer shell. Even those who do not go to such an extreme nonetheless ritualize the hunting of the puke worm, as it is such a dangerous-yet-profitable undertaking.

Of course, Gree-Gree are not the only humanoid hunters of these beasts. The inner flesh of the worm is akin to eel and is considered a delicacy in places like Battered Wreck. Churl fishing tribes prize themselves on knowing the locations of several regular nesting sites, harvesting the young for food and trade. Even High-bred patrols have been known to deviate from their mission to hunt one down and strip it for the meat.

While deadly, the value of the puke worm cannot be ignored — and, in the case of the Gree Gree at least, these outwardly-horrible beings are unfailingly exploited for their riches within.

Tactics:The puke worm is a solitary hunter, laying in wait at the bottom of slow moving, muddy river beds or the brackish ponds and stands of water that make up the swamplands. It senses prey both through the simple eyes upon its head and the vibrations it feels through its lengthy body. When it detects nearby movement, the monstrosity explodes into motion — catching the unwary meal by surprise and ensnaring it with its barbed "tongues." The creature’s teeth are not for chewing, instead curving inwards to drag prey down and keep them from escaping its massive maw.