The Immortal Naturalist's Guide to Cryptic Creatures: The Armored Behemoth

This post is part of the Immortal Naturalist's Guide series. The explanation for that series can be found in this post.

    The people of Farport claim that there is a massive shelled beast that eats the irongrass in the Rusted Plains. This beast, about thirty feet tall at the the peak of its shell, is known as the Armored Behemoth. Its shell is made of iron that has apparently been repurposed from the irongrass that makes up its diet. The Armored Behemoth seems to spend most of its time roaming and grazing, paying no mind to other creatures as most things seem incapable of truly harming it. Should anything gain its attention, the Behemoth is more than willing to crush the annoyance with its clubbed tail. Observing this beast was not difficult, it was only a matter of following its rather obvious trail, which leads me to believe that the rest of the world does not believe in the Armored Behemoth's existence out of some sort of prejudice against the people of Farport as they are the only group that sees this animal regularly.

    Ignoring its relatively obvious nature, one thing that grabbed my attention about the Behemoth is that its iron shell is much stronger than any iron I have ever encountered. Although I certainly lack metallurgical experience, the beast's shell is without blemish, which I believe is rather unlikely. Even if attacks against the creature are rare, it stands to reason that an iron shell exposed to the elements at all times would show some sign of wear. Something about the Armored Behemoth's shell makes it particularly durable, and a local group of warriors has taken notice. They have begun to emulate the Armored Behemoth in their armor and weapon usage, and some even believe that the beast is a god who maintains its shell with magic. Through emulation, the warriors hope that the beast will one day take notice and grant them its defensive abilities. Gaining the Behemoth's attention appears to be the difficult part, however, as it displays a rather oblivious nature. I suspect that if one ever wanted to trap this beast, it would only be a matter of finding a large enough cage, putting it in the path of the Behemoth, and locking the door after it walks in. Getting it to stop walking after its in the cage is another matter entirely, but I digress.

    There is a part of me that wonders if the durability of the shell would remain after removal. I suppose that if it did, one could craft some of the best armor in the world, assuming one could work the material. Some people in Farport will always mention how many people its meat could feed when you bring it up, although I could not fathom attempting to kill such a unique creature. Based on how the Armored Behemoth has treated even minor annoyances, anyone picking a fight with the beast will need to be very prepared.