Castles In The Sky

To: Trader Nirveli Visolela of the Silver Chimera Trading Company
From Shaeun Shontoleen, Royal Explorer of Silver Shadow Keep

My esteemed lady,

The warm waters of the Fortune’s Light Islands are ideally suited to washing away one’s cares and worries. Lying in the web of a hammock strung between trees at the edge of the beach, I watch the Rock Dancers nibbling on the rocks. Their unconcerned air matches my own as I bake in the warm sunlight.

The Rock Dancers are key to the Islands’ prosperity. Huge herds of the small sea-goats scour the rocky shores of seaweed, algae, and the wiry grasses that would otherwise clog the docks. They even scavenge the occasional bodies that wash up on shore and the annual grunion spawning. 

Each Rock Dancer is two to two and a half feet high at the shoulder and weighing sixty to seventy pounds each. Every year, the herds are culled rigorously and the fat forced to swim across the channels to the mainland where they are sold. Passing ships of every type lay in at Fortune’s Light to pick up living provisions.

Bands of metal are twisted around their curving horns in a pattern unique to each family in order to keep track of breeding rams and nannies. The young are adorned by bracelets of the same metal to keep track of payment when sold. Money is given to the family with the return of each metal band. It is a simple and elegant system.

As I sit beneath a dappled hide and feast on grilled kid and drink fermented juice from a polished horn, it is hard for me to think of leaving. Yet, I know that I shall be leaving as soon as my ship’s hold is filled with the bleating sounds of fat Rock Dancers to accompany us on our voyage back to Shadowsfell.

I look forward to sharing a keg of this wonderful beverage with you.

All my love,
Shaeun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock Dancer

Type:  Medium Mammal

Hit Dice: 3d8+12 (25 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: Swim 40 foot (8 squares), Climb 5 foot, Walk 15 foot
AC: 14 (+2 Size, +2 DEX), Touch  14, Flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+4
Attack: Gore +4 melee (1d8+2), Tail-Slap +4 melee (1d8+2 )
Full Attack: Ram +4 melee (1d8+2), Claw +4 melee (1d8+2)
Special Attacks: Ferocity
Special Quality: Scent
Saves: Fort +6, Reflex +6 Will +2
Abilities: STR 15, DEX 10, CON 17, INT 2 WIS 13, CHA 8
Skills: Listen +8, Spot +8. Hide 11, Spot +3
Feats:  Alertness, Endurance, Iron Will
Climate / Terrain: Tropical Seas, Salt Marsh, Rivers
Organization: Herd
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement 3-4 HD (Medium), 5-6 (Large)
Level Adjustment: N/A

 

Rock Dancers are generally 2 to 2 ½  feet tall at the shoulder and weigh between 60-70 lbs. Long, thin tails with fringed flukes arch back from the end of their hindquarters.  The Rock Dancer’s underbelly is usually a pale grey, white or cream.

The short hair of these sea-goats comes in a variety of colors and patterns. The most common colors are gray, black, tan, cream, caramel and blue-gray. They may have black, white or grey socks on each leg and stripes along the back. Black, white, grey, green or grey-blue spots and masking are common markings.

Their fore and hindquarters are modified into flippers tipped by the suction-like hooves common to mountain goats that allow them to climb among the slippery rocks. The webbed hindquarters still have the shape of strongly muscled legs. Males and females have sparse beards and spiraling horns, but horns of the male are more pronounced.

Combat:  Rock Dancers prefer to flee conflicts rather than fight. They seek the safety of water as a rule, but are capable of climbing out the many coral atolls or rocky shores to flee. Their relatively small size allows them to fit into small crevices, caves and other hidey-holes.

Rock Dancers only semi-wild and are not panicked by the sight of ships, most races or fire. If forced to fight, Rock Dancers are known for their ferocity. Whole herds will attack and ram a shark or other invader, reducing them to pulp in a matter of minutes.

Females will place themselves between their young and any danger, giving them young one time to hide or enter the water. Horns are the primary weapons of the Rock Dancer, and the females will use them to butt any intruder in an attempt to knock them down. Once an opponent is prone, the Rock Dancer will attack to grind the opponent underfoot repeatedly.

 Males will also use their horns to butt an opponent savagely in order to drive them away or knock them down. Once an opponent is prone, the male will trample it underfoot.

Males engage in ritualized combat to decide matters of precedence or dominance for breeding, grazing and territory. Each male will run at the other with heads lowered to butt their horns together. This will be repeated several times until one male is injured and/or unable to continue.

Society/Habitat:

A daintier version of the burly Wave Rammers, these sea-goats lives amid the rocky jetties and sandbars of the Fortune’s Light Islands as well as the edges of the coast. They primarily eat seaweed, kelp and the few wiry grasses that cling to the seacoast though they are known to also scavenge the bodies that occasionally wash up on shore as well as take advantage of the annual grunion spawning.

They live together in large herds (roves) with a 1-5 leaders. Herd leaders are generally females and are more intelligent and more aggressive than their fellows. Header leaders are marked by bells hung on their horns and every Rock Dancer wears bands on its horns that denote its name, rove and owner. Stealing a Rock Dancer or its bands may be punishable by hanging or branding.

Both genders are friendly, bright, and playful. They make excellent pets for children and are sometimes given into the care of the young islanders.

Rock Dancers are culled rigorously for their skins, hair and meat. Females are milked to produce rich butter and creamy cheeses that are ripened inside the coastal caves. Young kids provide the softest leather and meat. Milk-fed Rock Dancer meat is considered a delicacy.

If Rock Dancers were not assiduously culled their numbers would increase alarmingly. Rock Dancers are indiscriminate eaters and would quickly strip their habitat bare of anything edible. Roves of Rock Dancers are sometimes forced to swim to the Western Coast for sale during the summer’s tranquil weather.

Like Coral Dancers, Rock Dancers are sought after for their hides and horns which are used to make magical and mundane items that affect the water and water-dwelling creatures. Their tough leather makes durable leather used in watercraft as well as armor.