Of Stone, Air and Water
Knockers: Small, deformed creatures. They haunt mines and tunnels beneath the earth and within the mountains. They appear humanoid, with one head, two arms, two legs. Their skin is mottled brown and blends in with the walls and floors of their natural habitat. Their heads are knobby and they have no eyes, as they live in darkness. They have only sockets where eyes once were, and within those sockets burn glowing embers. Their bodies are wrapped in lengths of iron and bronze, in some strange parody of clothing. They carry small pick axes in their grubby, knobbly hands.
Their approach is heralded by knocking along the walls of caves and mines. Their main method of attack is to use their miner's tools as weapons.
They reside only in caverns and mines.
Tailypo: Like a beast made of shadow, the tailypo resembles a great hulking beast of a dog at first glance. Heavy, matted black fur; large canine head topped with pointed ears; long, thick body. But a close look reveals the body is sectioned and jointed, almost insectoid. Its legs are doglike as well, but the claws! The claws resemble nothing on any creature ever kept as a pet. Long and wickedly curved, they gleam almost metallic in the moonlight.
It moves in a most disturbing manner, jerking and twitching from side to side as it moves like a Chinese dragon in a parade. It howls when it scents its prey, but once on the hunt remains eerily silent. This creature remains close to woods and water.
Kelpies: Like something from a nightmare, the kelpie comes from the rivers and lakes and ponds. It is clearly a horse, black or white in coloring, sleek and wet when the light hits it. Its mane and tail, however, resemble polluted kelp and water plants, tangled and brackish and dripping water. Its body is sickly and malnourished, bones clearly visible.
The touch of its flesh causes paralysis, allowing the kelpie to drag its helpless victim into the water to drown or devour them on the spot. It seeks to pull its victims close with ropes of its mane and tail, wrapping around limbs or torso to drag its prey close enough to touch its deadly
body...
Mermaids: Kelpies are not the only dangers inhabiting the waters of the mountains. When the light begins to fade on the lake, the mermaids come out. Drifting on the slabs of ice that float across the surface, they are beyond beautiful. Like mermaids of legend, they are half woman, half aquatic creature. They are as varied as human women, and even more exotic. Their human bodies are flawless, and their tails begin below their hips, hinting at more in common with human females than simply a torso…
There is nothing immediately frightening about these creatures. Even on close inspection, they are enticing and exquisite. But they do carry their own dangers - their silvery tails can wrap around a human and crush them, and their pretty lips can hide a carnivore's teeth. If nothing else the lake is their ally, for if they simply prevent a human from leaving its freezing waters for long, hypothermia can set in.
These creatures - which sometimes swim down the river that drains from the lake - can be either friend or foe.
Bats: The most common of the winged creatures here at the hospital, the bats seem to be born in the same vein as the cats and rats. Twice the size of their mortal kin, these creatures roost along the ceilings and in closets, leathery wings wrapped about rotting bodies. They reek of death and decay, furred bodies ravaged and torn open with the ravages of whatever peculiar ailment plagues the creatures of the night. Their mouths are full of jagged teeth, two pointed fangs standing out prominently. They are sensitive to light, and the bones of their wings are fragile. The worst part about the bats is that their saliva includes an anticoagulant, meaning once bitten, the wound will not stop bleeding for the rest of the night -- attracting other, more deadly monsters.
Aquila: Twice the size of a full grown man, these giant birds resemble eagles. But their feathers are mottled grey and black, sickly and ragged. Their claws end in wicked talons, silver and cruel. Their beaks are silver as well, curved to a deadly looking point. Its wings are strong enough that a good blow from one could break a bone or knock a human unconscious. These monsters nest on the roof of the hospital and prefer pure flesh for their meals.
Dragonflies: More lizard than insect, these creatures travel in swarms. Only the length of a hand, with scaled bodies and frail looking wings, they appear at first harmless, even whimsical. But a close look reveals their scaled bodies are twisted and grotesque, their eyes are bulging, their mouths full of tiny, needle sharp teeth that can shred a man of their flesh in a matter of minutes.