[Urbis] Locations of the Cold Frontier - Alpluachra Infestation and Field of Ravens

At the slow-moving confluence of two rivers where dense thickets of reeds cover the banks, numerous alpluachra laze their days away and eat whatever small creatures are careless enough to pass by. These newt-like fey are only dangerous to humanoids if the latter are careless enough to sleep nearby, in which case they will attempt to crawl into the gullets of their chosen victim (decreasing their size, if necessary) where they will devour whatever the victim swallows. The victim will feel increasingly hungry and thirsty without realizing the cause of their predicament, thanks to the creature's numbing slime. While it is possible to kill the alpluachra with sufficiently inventive home remedies (as opposed to the recommended massive amounts of salt), these are likely to have side effects for the victim.

Northwest of the alpluachras, large flocks of ravens frequently congregate in an area where the grass is shorter than elsewhere in the lowlands. They are curious and friendly, and will certainly appreciate offers of food. However, they are also likely to pick up phrases of human speech said near them, and soon the whole flock will repeat the same phrases over and over again, making it difficult to sleep nearby. They will also remember these phrases and utter them again when the explorers revisit, or if they come across other ravens elsewhere.

Someone looking for a raven familiar or animal companion would certainly have good odds of finding one here.

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