THE ARTIFACT

Log 4, Sun skewers. The cave we’ve taken rest in is fairly high up and gives a good look over the Crystal Valley. The higher altitude seems to be home to a species of aerial predators that I’ve named sun skewers.

That’s a dumb name

It makes sense. Like most avians on Murkosia they use jet propulsion to fly, coming to an average speed of 480mph. Two hardened tentacles near the jaw point outward with hooks on the end, these tentacles are used to SKEWER their prey.

Still sounds dumb

The most striking adaptation they have is the eyes. Normally eyes on Murkosia are gelatinous sacs of photosensitive cells, the ones on sun skewers are similar but the eyes on the head are hardened and horn-like. The reason for these protruding eyes is that they allow for 360° vision since the cells with the pupil are more spread out. The third eye on the chest is also more spread out allowing for full coverage of the area below but isn’t as rigid as the top two. The hunting strategy for sun skewers is to blend in and wait on tall rocks until they sense movement; once done they shoot up into the air and fly within the sun’s glare to stay undetected until they swoop down and skewer their prey at high speeds killing them almost instantly. Thankfully they only attack animals around their size which makes us safe.

That safety might not last long. Multiple creatures are crawling up the cliff to our area.

Really!? Crap that’s a lot of them um… wait are those, shroom heads?

Log cuts out