Peek: Wherever the Wind Blows

Ah, look at them go. You know, when I was your age, we had to be wary of tumbleweeds. You never knew if they were going to try to eat you. Don't believe me? Well, settle into the shade and listen to the tale of a dungeon I'm glad is gone.

Our Wanderlands are no strangers to dungeons. Apparently, our nomadic nature makes the mana flows even more unstable than usual, which is a great way to get more dungeons. With the wide open spaces, we have a lot of turnaround on dungeons, too, as they either subsume each other, or get destroyed by invaders, thanks to how open things tend to be.

There was one dungeon who tried to take advantage of this fact. It was quite powerful in its day, too. I never delved it, because it's generally a poor idea to delve a murderous dungeon. This one had a particular claim on a windy plain, and it had plant spawners. It's not surprising that it would designate tumbleweeds, though the carnivorous variety is very unusual.

With wind affinity, not only could they ride the winds to seek out mana for their dungeon, but the carnivorous tumbleweeds could then blow themselves back home to sate its hunger. Naturally, this worked for a time. Who suspects a tumbleweed to be anything dangerous? Maybe don't get too close if one's on fire, maybe use gloves to handle them to ward off scratches, but to be in fear for your life around them seems ridiculous, right?

Not so ridiculous when a seemingly-innocent tumbleweed blows through and takes your dog, screaming the whole way as it continues tumbling along. And there are must more important things to lose than a pet. The trick worked for a couple years, but it only takes one child lost for a tribe to stop treating the tumbleweeds so lightly. More than one plainsfire was started by overzealous caravan guards torching passing tumbleweeds.

The dungeon made a lot of mana, at least at first. The tribes coordinated to wipe it out, inter-tribal bickering paling to the danger the dungeon represented. The tumbleweeds were dangerous, but only when they catch someone by surprise. Watches were kept, truces declared, and the dungeon's territory encircled to ensure not only would no fools be able to delve it, but also that its lethal expeditions would only meet failure.

So with its denizens actively hunted, and its territory blockaded, it eventually either starved or was destroyed by invaders. Good riddance, I say. So that's why you'll always see me stab or slice a tumbleweed before taking it to the campfire to burn. There hasn't been a sighting of a carnivorous one in over a decade, but it's better safe than sorry.

So you be careful around them, too. It's only a matter of time before some other dungeon gets that bright idea again.

~Onthar, Orc Bard Historian

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Inspired by the yard work that delayed this particular peek today :P I hope you all enjoyed it