Flying Creatures

No matter what method of travel they chose, all explorers may expect many encounters with flying creatures. Flocks of predatory birds and flesh-eating bats circle above the drifting sands, while bloodsucking insects (both large and small) seem always to be close by. These encounters seem to occur more often near shore, especially in estuaries where the islands were not populated by intelligent races. Usually, the encounters resulted in a predatory attack. Often, as many members of the explorer's party perished by falling into the Sea of Silt as by being killed by the attacking monster.

Giants

Many explorers have reported unpleasant meetings with giants. Uniformly, these encounters occurred when the explorer and/or his party went ashore on a giant's island without first being invited. In these instances, the giant would defend his territory savagely, not stopping to listen to any sort of reasoning. On the other hand, if the explorers first circumnavigated the island and used some means to signal the inhabitants, any giants living there were usually happy to receive the travelers as honored guests. Of course, not all islands are inhabited by giants, so explorers have reported many instances when announcing their arrival brought them nothing but a swift attack from some hungry predator.

Mudfiends

As mentioned earlier, predators often lurk on mudflats. Often, these predators are various manners of flying beasts found elsewhere in the world, like wyverns. As soon as any prey comes to feed on the lush vegetation, they spring out of their hiding places and attack. The most dangerous of these beasts are kluzds, ten-foot reptiles who live only in muddy areas, which means predominantly on the mudflats. Few explorers have actually seen a kluzd (pronounced "kloozd"), but many of them have had encounters with the snake-like creatures. Usually, it happens this way: shortly after setting foot on a mudflat, someone notices a pressure ridge forming in the silt-covered mud. This pressure ridge makes a beeline straight for one member of the party, who usually tries to flee. His efforts generally avail him little, however, for the ridge quickly catches up with him. Little, if any, can be seen of the monster as it drags its screaming prey beneath the surface of the mudflat. If the victim struggles, the mud and silt in the area may be churned for a short period. Then the ground grows still, the kluzd apparently having retreated. The victim is never seen again (presumably because he has been eaten). Fortunately, kluzds are not overly voracious and tend to be solitary creatures, so only one victim is usually taken in this manner. When the wind has exposed the mudflat and left the mud to dry into a hard crust, however, the kluzds can be even more dangerous. Apparently, they mate under such conditions, for two of them often burst through the crust and attack simultaneously. The kluzds will each drag a victim down to their muddy nest for their young to feed upon, then return to get another victim for themselves. If the attack comes at night, some explorers have even reported dozens of kluzd young pouring out of the holes created by their parents to gnaw upon the wounded and dead.

Silt-Horrors

Occasionally, explorers are attacked by huge white tentacles that shoot out of the Sea of Silt. These tentacles wrap themselves around whatever they touch - man, beast, object - and try to pull it down to the dust bed. Usually, of course, wading or levitating explorers are most susceptible to such attacks, but I've heard stories of tentacles attacking those who fly within twenty feet of the surface. No one seems to know for sure what the tentacles are attached to, though I have heard a third-hand account describing a horrid beast. According to this account (which, I must emphasize, may be unreliable), a mage was flying over the Sea of Silt when he saw a wading giant attacked by some of the tentacles. During the struggle, the giant managed to pull a gruesome white creature with a fleshy, bulbous body out of the dust bed. The thing's body was as malleable as soft clay, and the giant could never get a handle on it. Eventually, the thing wrapped itself around the giant's head. He screamed, then fell and disappeared in a cloud of dust. I have dubbed these monsters "silt horrors.',