The Immortal Naturalist's Guide to Cryptic Creatures: The Zambambler

This post is part of the Immortal Naturalist's Guide series. The explanation for that series can be found in this post. This will be the last creature in the series, which makes 50 for anyone keeping count. I might do another set of creatures in the future, but probably not quite so many.

    The Zambambler is one of the most fearsome-looking residents of the Periwinkle River's headwater valley. Covered in a row of spikes that goes from nose to tail, this creature is assumed by most to be a terrible monster. Truthfully, I do not know how the Zambambler got this reputation. Despite standing twenty feet tall and its sharp spikes, the Zambambler is a peaceful creature which spends most of its time feeding on zambrambles, an evergreen species of brambles with poisonous thorns. This poison, which causes most animals immense pain for up to twelve hours, does not bother the Zambambler, nor does the sharpness of the thorns. The creature will sit in a field of these plants and munch all day before returning to its home in a cave behind a waterfall. When it meets another creature, the Zambambler will actually wave at it despite lacking any real intelligence. While most creatures flee, those that do not try to harm the beast will be allowed to approach and even touch it. If anything tries to take advantage of this kindness and harm the Zambambler, however, they will be on the receiving end of its magical ability.

    At any time, the Zambambler is able to launch any number of its spikes out of its body fast enough to penetrate steel. Spikes launched in this manner seem to regrow instantly, which is why I believe magic is involved. Furthermore, any part of the spikes that touches liquid will instantly dissolve, releasing a concentrated dose of zambramble poison, usually incapacitating whoever is hit for several hours. As far as my observations can tell, the Zambambler is able to magically isolate the poison from its meals and turn it into its solid spikes. While its aim does leave something to desire, these spikes are nothing to be laughed at. The only way to neutralize the poison and stop the pain is through the Zambambler's saliva, which seems to immediately end all effects of zambramble poison.

    Although I have no idea how one might convince the Zambambler to lick a wound that it caused with one of its spikes, I do know that the creature needs to periodically shed its spikes, apparently to make room for more zambramble poison in its body. This means that the creature's lair is absolutely filled with discarded spikes. With such a rare and hard to find antidote, this stash of discarded spikes could probably supply every single torturer in the world for years without much issue. The lair is even shockingly easy to find, being behind one of the relatively few waterfalls of the Periwinkle River. That is not to say that I condone the exploitation of such a resource, but it is an enticingly easy one to harvest for sure.