River Murkers

 The River Murkers, swamp dwelling creatures who are extremely intelligent but rarely meet humans, are peculiar myths of many Viking and Legion villages in the North. They are said to be responsible for the disappearance of any villager who foolishly leave the safety of their house at night. However myths and legends say that they defend the unoccupied places of the North, preventing even more horrific creatures from infesting them. Some villages offer leave sacrifices bound and gagged near the riverbed. These sacrifices are then found later, torn to pieces and feasted upon. Some swamps are considered sacred to the creatures and there is a law against attacking one on a rare occasion when a pheasant sights one from a distance.

Despite their privileged position in folklore, they are dangerous and extremely unpredictable. For every tale about a River Murker rescuing someone from drowning and bringing them back to their village, there is one about another attacking a group of pheasants or drowning a donkey. No one knows what they want, but they definitely want something, for they have been sighted searching in unusual places such as chicken coops and wells.

A River Murker is a bulky creature, twice the size of a man and in a rough humanoid shape. They have extremely long hands which end with extremely long claw like fingers that have been known to tear horses into pieces. There body seems to be made up of mud, rocks and debris which is found in the swamps they live in. They do not always attack the humans who get lost in the swamps, sometimes they just observe them, other times they help them but most often they catch them and take them to their hidden caves. It is unknown what they do to them here but they are never seen again.