Krakens and Lies (34 page)

CHUPACABRA

The chupacabra has the head of a dog, a spiny back, and scaly skin; its red eyes can hypnotize and it leaves a sulfurous odor in its wake. Tends to feed on goats and other livestock, but has been known to bite people as well.

DRAGON (Chinese)

Related to Western dragons, but without wings or fire-breathing; Chinese dragons can change their size and love the water.

DRAGON (Western)

Enormous fire-breathing creatures with scales, talons, and vast wings. Usually they choose the relative safety of captivity and do not require Tracking.

GOLDEN GOOSE

A larger-than-average goose that can lay golden eggs.

GRIFFIN

A lion-eagle hybrid, with the body, paws, and tail of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle; they are traditionally guardians, mistrust horses, and love treasure. If you can identify what treasure a griffin is protecting, they are easier to track.

HALCYON

A small blue bird with white throat feathers that looks something like a kingfisher and can affect the weather.

HELLHOUND

Oversized black dogs with sulfurous breath and glowing red eyes. Try to avoid their slobber as it can sting if it comes in contact with broken skin.

HIPPOCAMP

A water animal with the head and front legs of a horse but the tail of a fish.

JACKALOPE

Only found in Wyoming, a jackalope looks like a rabbit with antlers. Beware its ability to imitate the human voice, as it may lead you on a merry chase.

KAPPA

Water sprites from Japan with scales, faces like monkeys, and turtle shells on their backs. They love cucumbers but will also happily eat children.

KELPIE

A malevolent kind of water horse that lurks by ponds and rivers to lure people into the water for the purpose of drowning and/or eating them. Basically, if you see a horse standing next to a lake, leave it alone.

KITSUNE

Native to Japan, a kitsune's true shape is a fox, but they can also shift into human form, so they are monitored by the SuperNatural Agency for Mostly Human Protection (SNAMHP). They are very difficult to catch because a full-grown kitsune can often read minds, see the future, fly, possess people, and create illusions that mimic reality. A clever Tracker might spot one by its fox-shaped shadow. Dogs are sometimes useful for tracking them as a dog can sniff out a kitsune's true nature.

KRAKEN

Possibly the largest of all mythical creatures, the kraken is shaped like a giant squid and lives deep in the ocean. Their ink can wipe all supernatural memories from your brain, and more
than one promising Tracker's career has been derailed by an unfortunate encounter with it. Only specially trained deep-sea Trackers are qualified to search for creatures like this.

MANTICORE

A fierce and deadly creature with a lion's body and claws, a scorpion's tail, and a face like a man with rows of sharp fangs. Extremely dangerous—do not approach!

MAPINGUARI

A giant sloth-like animal found in the dark jungles of South America. They are slow, but willing to eat people, and fearsomely bad smelling—bad enough that they can often be tracked by their terrible scent.

MERMAID

Exactly what you think they are: people with fish tails from the waist down who prefer to live underwater. Classed as Mostly Human and therefore monitored by SNAMHP.

PEGASUS

A winged horse. The primary difficulty in tracking them is that no ordinary saddle will fit around their wings.

PHOENIX

A beautiful scarlet-plumed bird who occasionally dies in a burst of flames and is then reborn from an egg found in the ashes. There is only one in the world, currently located in the Wyoming Menagerie.

PYROSALAMANDER

The mythical cousins of a regular salamander, pyrosalamanders are small, bright red, and eat fire. Handle with caution and be sure to feed them regularly!

QILIN

Sometimes confused with unicorns or called a “Chinese unicorn,” as they are usually found in China or Japan. A qilin has the slender body of a deer, fish scales along its back, and one horn pointing backward from its head. They are able to sense the guilt or innocence of others. Extremely difficult to track as a qilin passes over grass without flattening it. Take care when capturing one as it is bad luck to wound a qilin.

ROC

A gigantic bird of prey, usually with white and gold feathers, capable of carrying an elephant in its massive claws. Found in the most uninhabited mountainous regions of the world.

SELKIE

Another Mostly Human sea hybrid; selkies take the form of seals in the water, but can slip off their sealskins and
assume human form while on land. Please try not to bring in ordinary seals who are “acting suspicious,” as this happens entirely too often and SNAMPH is not amused by it.

TANIWHA

A long serpentine creature from New Zealand with some of the qualities of a dragon, except that they are usually wingless and prefer to live in the ocean. On land, they can be tracked by the tunnels they leave behind as they dig their way through the earth.

UNICORN