Life of the Strange

Smudged Mark

Lambent was working in one of his journals. He sketched the round, green head of a Heinous Dietrap, and made notes about it on the sides of its leaves.

Yesterday he and Siren couldn't find any documents really resembling the monster the castle fought yesterday, so he was making up for the gap-in-knowledge by making his own, in case it happened again in the future.

Written by Lambent the Strange, 127 generation Rafael Ames...August  31 2547...

...The "Heinous Dietraps," a name for the monster coined by miss Aardy the Strange (127 generation Violeta Razon), is one single monster unit, coming from one system of roots, dispensing into a cluster of multiple heads.

Can easily be mistaken for multiple monsters, the Heinous Dietrap has the traits of a giant starfish—that is, cut off one of its sharp sides, (heads in this matter) you won't be taking down the entire unit.

Personal experience says that if you want to kill one of these creatures, poison the roots. My castle members (specifically Duke the Strange, 126 generation Simon Abney,) created a pesticide for this monster by combining things like bleach, acidic chemicals, and other things found in the factory room. The poisoned monster won't die immediately (3—5 hour gestation period)...

...engaging in one of the Dietraps' heads sets all the other ones in a frenzy, and makes it hard if you want to get up to it at a close range (do not recommend physical engagement)...

Lambent set down his pen, taking a break from the strain in his eyes. It was still the early hours of the morning.

He started this early while the information was still fresh in his brain, from the events of yesterday.

Last night he and Siren had searched the library till his head hurt, and he couldn't of written the document he was writing now without getting some sleep first.

Lambent got up, stretched, and made his way out of the room. One couldn't write on an empty stomach 'neither.

Siren, Aardy, and Duke were already at the dinner table when he got there, as Tenor was probably asleep-- he usually slept in.

He sat down and got himself a big plate of pancakes, which was a nice deviation from the mac 'n cheese meals they've been having.

He took a big slice of the fluffy delight and set forth.

Around the table, he noticed Siren looking very distracted, as she was chewing very slowly and staring off into space.

He scooted next to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

[Are those pancakes too much for you?] he smiled.

Siren looked like she had been started from deep thought. She shook her head and signed, [No, just tired.]

[It's too bad we didn't find anything in the library about the plant monsters, the Dietraps.] he signed. [All that lack of sleep for nothing. I would think that some of the previous castle members would have come across something like such creatures before —and chronicle it— so I find it very strange.]

[Find what strange?]

[Well, since it seems no other castle member had come across something like the Dietraps before, that could mean that the plants we fought aren't native to the area. The species of plants that change into those monsters—Venus Flytraps? Not from around here.
And, how could've they've gotten here—right in front of the greenhouse, where there are many more plants dominant to the flytrap— if where they live is presumably far away?]