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The Ecology of the Marine Scrag (unpublished AD&D 2E version)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8066025" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>THE ECOLOGY OF THE MARINE SCRAG</strong></p><p></p><p>The two young mermaids swam ever closer to the cave's mouth, hidden in deep shadows below a rock outcropping. They stayed low, hugging the ocean floor, careful to remain among the cover of seaweed fronds and kelp beds. Thiossa, the elder, expertly led the way, her long, dark hair flowing behind her as she swam. It was obvious from her certainty about which way to go that she had followed this course before.</p><p></p><p>Behind her swam Tukio, her younger sister. She wore an expression of concern, perhaps even fear. This was unknown territory to her; she was farther from home than she wished to be - but still, she would not show fear in front of her sister. For once Thiossa was treating her like an equal and she would do nothing to change that. Plus, she had always been on the inquisitive side and this looked to be interesting, if a little dangerous.</p><p></p><p>"There it is," Thiossa said. "We don't dare go much closer. They can't swim as fast as we can, but if they caught us by surprise...." She left that thought unspoken but Tukio didn't need to hear the specifics to understand the danger. She shivered.<strong>[1]</strong> "Stay here, among the sea-grass, and watch," Thiossa suggested.</p><p></p><p>Tukio let her body sink to the ocean floor and peeked out between the fronds, occasionally brushing her jet-black hair out of the way as it drifted across her face, obscuring her vision. Several minutes passed and she began to get bored.</p><p></p><p>"How many are there in there?" she asked.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not sure. I've seen as many as three: one female and two males. There might be more."</p><p></p><p>"Are you sure they're in there now? Maybe they've gone out to hunt."</p><p></p><p>"Possible, but I doubt it. Trolls<strong>[2]</strong> don't like the sun too much and don't often come out of their caves until nightfall."</p><p></p><p>"We're not going to stay here that long, are we? Father will--"</p><p></p><p>"Shhhh! Look!"</p><p></p><p>Tukio looked up and saw clouds of sand and silt billowing from the cave entrance. As she watched, she saw the outline of two struggling figures appear in the midst of the cloud. They clawed and snapped at each other, their scuffle kicking up great quantities of the sand lining the floor of their cave.</p><p></p><p>"Why are they fighting?" whispered the young mermaid. Even at this distance, she could see that the creatures were huge, much larger than she would have guessed, and wanted to take no chances on drawing their attention to her sister and herself.</p><p></p><p>"Those are the two males I told you about. The female is even bigger yet."</p><p></p><p>"But why are they fighting each other?"</p><p></p><p>"They're competing for the right to mate with the female. It's some sort of ritual, I think."<strong>[3]</strong></p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>1. Marine scrags crave human flesh above all else but are content dining on fish and shellfish. A mermaid, of course, provides them with a two-course meal: human and fish conveniently packaged into a single morsel....</p><p></p><p>2. Although known to the surface races as saltwater trolls or, more commonly, marine scrags, races dwelling exclusively underwater have little need to differentiate between these creatures and their land-dwelling cousins. Thus, mermaids, tritons, ixitxachitl, morkoths, and the like usually refer to these creatures as simply "trolls."</p><p></p><p>3. Marine scrag society, like that of most other trolls, is matriarchal. The females are both larger and more powerful than the males and the dominant female of a troll pack acts as both pack leader and shaman. One of the "perks" of such a position is that she gets her choice of mates, but often, instead of simply choosing a mate, the leader will allow suitors to fight each other for the right to mate with her. Such a contest ensures that she ends up with the most powerful of the males and therefore stronger, tougher offspring.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8066025, member: 508"] [b]THE ECOLOGY OF THE MARINE SCRAG[/b] The two young mermaids swam ever closer to the cave's mouth, hidden in deep shadows below a rock outcropping. They stayed low, hugging the ocean floor, careful to remain among the cover of seaweed fronds and kelp beds. Thiossa, the elder, expertly led the way, her long, dark hair flowing behind her as she swam. It was obvious from her certainty about which way to go that she had followed this course before. Behind her swam Tukio, her younger sister. She wore an expression of concern, perhaps even fear. This was unknown territory to her; she was farther from home than she wished to be - but still, she would not show fear in front of her sister. For once Thiossa was treating her like an equal and she would do nothing to change that. Plus, she had always been on the inquisitive side and this looked to be interesting, if a little dangerous. "There it is," Thiossa said. "We don't dare go much closer. They can't swim as fast as we can, but if they caught us by surprise...." She left that thought unspoken but Tukio didn't need to hear the specifics to understand the danger. She shivered.[b][1][/b] "Stay here, among the sea-grass, and watch," Thiossa suggested. Tukio let her body sink to the ocean floor and peeked out between the fronds, occasionally brushing her jet-black hair out of the way as it drifted across her face, obscuring her vision. Several minutes passed and she began to get bored. "How many are there in there?" she asked. "I'm not sure. I've seen as many as three: one female and two males. There might be more." "Are you sure they're in there now? Maybe they've gone out to hunt." "Possible, but I doubt it. Trolls[b][2][/b] don't like the sun too much and don't often come out of their caves until nightfall." "We're not going to stay here that long, are we? Father will--" "Shhhh! Look!" Tukio looked up and saw clouds of sand and silt billowing from the cave entrance. As she watched, she saw the outline of two struggling figures appear in the midst of the cloud. They clawed and snapped at each other, their scuffle kicking up great quantities of the sand lining the floor of their cave. "Why are they fighting?" whispered the young mermaid. Even at this distance, she could see that the creatures were huge, much larger than she would have guessed, and wanted to take no chances on drawing their attention to her sister and herself. "Those are the two males I told you about. The female is even bigger yet." "But why are they fighting each other?" "They're competing for the right to mate with the female. It's some sort of ritual, I think."[b][3][/b] - - - [b]NOTES[/b] 1. Marine scrags crave human flesh above all else but are content dining on fish and shellfish. A mermaid, of course, provides them with a two-course meal: human and fish conveniently packaged into a single morsel.... 2. Although known to the surface races as saltwater trolls or, more commonly, marine scrags, races dwelling exclusively underwater have little need to differentiate between these creatures and their land-dwelling cousins. Thus, mermaids, tritons, ixitxachitl, morkoths, and the like usually refer to these creatures as simply "trolls." 3. Marine scrag society, like that of most other trolls, is matriarchal. The females are both larger and more powerful than the males and the dominant female of a troll pack acts as both pack leader and shaman. One of the "perks" of such a position is that she gets her choice of mates, but often, instead of simply choosing a mate, the leader will allow suitors to fight each other for the right to mate with her. Such a contest ensures that she ends up with the most powerful of the males and therefore stronger, tougher offspring. [/QUOTE]
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