Into the Dread Iron Crags...

Thaynor Uplands (#8/30; #251/365)

"A rangeland of metallic bulwarks and pig-iron plateaus, covered in the rusty dust of millennia, where dour beasts crawl in ever-dark valleys and demonic moulds and lichen flourish on desolate hilltops, blasted with the light of a thousand alien suns."

Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 32)

Looming over the arid deserts and sparse fungal savannahs of this corner of the Plane of Rust, the Thaynor Uplands are a rocky plateau of dusty decay, cliffs and hillsides corroding slowly into the flatlands, with dark valleys haunted by sudden death. Work-gangs of Qagdin gatherers spread out from the Forbidden Garden of Thay, harvesting rare moss and fungi while watched by Mantis Demon guards.

A previous demonic civilization walled their dead up into the sides of the valleys; occasionally the rogue energies of the Pit reanimate the corpses and send them staggering down dry stony creek-beds to the lowlands below. A Vorpit necromancer, Pagdulous of Phune (fat, arrogant), has been gathering these stray undead into an army, and plans an assault on the Forbidden Garden, backed up by scorpion-like Accursed mercenaries.

What wanders through the wilderness towards me?

3. a LITHOGEN

4. ACCURSED

5. ECTOVULT

6. BANSHEE

7. ZOMBIE

8. IRON EATER

9. a swarm of BLACK MILLI-WYRMS

10. a herd of SOY-HIJYEZ (see below)

11. QAGDIN work-gang and MANTIS DEMON overseer

12. a ZEYJUV

13. SKELETON

14. DECAYER

15. a flock of STYGIAN IMPS

16. NIGHT GAUNTS

17. VAMPYRIC SLIME MOULD

18. DEATH SPIDER

New Monster:

SOY-HIJYEZ

SKILL 8 STAMINA 6, Horns (as Small Claw), Medium Armour.

These are goat-like ungulates, with short purple hair and long curved horns, often found in small herds in upland areas of the Pit. They are covered in erectile spines hidden among their fur, which causes 1 STAMINA damage to anyone who wounds the creature in combat. They can also turn Invisible once per day, and this is their standard response when threatened. Soy-Hijyez feed on moss, moulds and lichen, and their flesh and milk are both desired by Demon gourmands. Their corpses must be gathered carefully though, because, unless special precautions are taken, the creatures explode when slain, causing 2-12 STAMINA damage to everyone within three metres or so. This chemical reaction is thought to be a by-product of both the strange things the creatures eat, and the breakdown of their digestive tract in death.