Quakeback

"They're harmless enough, if you don't spook 'em that is. Best advice? If you hear the rumble, stop walking and start running, preferably in the other direction."

— Marren Broadstone, wandering miner

 

The Shuddering Earth

  Seen as no more than nuisances, albeit very large ones, these lumbering armadillo-like beasts spend most of their lives burrowed underground, scratching at the earth with claws that look far too delicate for their bulk. Their backs, however, are where the real trouble starts; a jagged patchwork of stone and iron-like scales that clatter together whenever they move. This noise alone is enough to frighten travelers into thinking they've stumbled upon a collapsing cavern.   But it's not the clattering you need to worry about. It's the shaking.   When a quakeback feels threatened - and it often does, given its poor eyesight and overly suspicious temperament - it will crouch low and begin slamming its plated back into the ground. This sets off a series of tremors, not enough to bring down a mountain, but certainly enough to shatter a cart's wheel or send a loose boulder tumbling down a hill. The tremors are short-lived, but the consequences can be fatal for anyone too close to the beast's burrow. Farmers and miners alike have learned to steer well clear of their territories, marking the surrounding land with with wooden takes to warn passersby.  

A Tremoring Realization

  Curiously, quakebacks aren't much for fighting. Once they've caused their chaos, they tend to lumber off into the nearest patch of soft soil, disappearing as quickly as they arrived. Their burrows, which stretch deep into the earth, often become homes for other creatures - less irritable ones, thankfully. Despite their size, quakebacks are herbivores, feeding on roots, tubers, and the occasional mineral deposit they crush with their powerful jaws. Some say they're even drawn to the vibrations of certain sounds, though that may just be idle gossip from traveling minstrels who claim their lutes have caused more trouble than they're worth.   In truth, quakebacks are just shy, nervous creatures trying to protect their solitary lives beneath the ground. The real problem, as any local would tell you, isn't the quakeback itself but what it leaves behind. Abandoned tunnels carved by these beasts are unstable at best, liable to collapse under the weight of a careless step. Seasons adventurers always travel with a staff of pole, tapping the ground ahead. You never know when the earth might give way; though if you hear the clattering first, you've already run out of luck.