Manta Leech

Beware the Devil’s Blanket. It sails below the water, looking to fish for you! - Fisherman’s Warning

Author’s note: Hoist the Colors may eventually inspire fiction. Most likely will and I’ll gladly write it. But right now, it’s a role-playing game setting with what I hope is an interesting take and look at an “Alternate History” of Earth. It isn’t really “steampunk”, though I can see how someone would get that impression. For me, it’s more a “flintlock fantasy” set on Earth of 1722 in all it’s historical mess… that I’ve stirred up even more!

So, with that said, this one gets us to a creature feature for this month! A predator that looks all too innocent, which does prove that sometimes looks can be deceiving. This nasty critter is absolutely in the roleplaying game for Hoist the Colors, and may show up in Legends of the Privateers, a Hoist the Colors serial fiction!

Manta Leech

Beware the Devil’s Blanket. It sails below the water, looking to fish for you!

- Fisherman’s Warning

The sea holds secrets close to her briny heart, protecting each one with a persistent predator. Beasts with an uncanny talent for dealing out death in a moment’s glance. But the sinister secrets from Otherworld didn’t stop at the sea’s shoreline. Freshwater ponds, rivers and lakes also contain their own mysteries. Some are benign, while others make a monstrous meal out of the unwary.

One of those is an ambush predator that combines the grace and appearance of an Earthly cousin with the feral ferocity of night terrors. They’re beasts born of Otherworld that slipped through to live among the other deadly dangers of Earth. They are the manta leech, which should never be dismissed or taken lightly.

Silent Hunters of the Swamps

The manta leech makes it home in the muddy, murky waters of swamps, bayous, and river deltas. A freshwater horror that thrives at the fringe of those regions, wrapped in sinister silence and shadows. This animal is shaped like its cousin, the manta ray, with a few unique features all its own. But unlike its cousin, the manta leech is anything but a gentle giant of the waves.

This perilous predator blends seamlessly into the dark, swamp water of its home. Survivors describe it has a smooth dorsal surface that comes in a variety of mottled patterns from gray to green, and even a shade of muddy red cream. This natural camouflage lets it blend in with underwater reeds, floating plants, and swamp slime while it stalks its next meal. But this coloration only covers the top of the beast. Below, in stark contrast, the ventral side is a ghostly, if not corpse white, like dead flesh moving. It’s nature’s own foreshadowing.

Like the manta ray, this beast shares many of the same physical features. Its eyes are positioned to the side and behind manta ray-like horns. Its body is thin and sleek, perfectly adapted for the water. The manta leech also has a pair of wing-like pectoral fins and a long, thin tail. That is where the comparison stops.

Unlike its cousin, this twisted terror has twelve retractable, hook-like claws at the edge of its fins. Needle sharp, they can easily latch onto, and slice through most cloth, including wool. Padded armor helps, as does leather and metal. But this isn’t the only weapon in the creature’s arsenal.

Along with the claws, a manta leech has a whip-like tail with a barbed end. This tail is highly flexible, allowing the beast to stab a victim, then deliver a tranquilizing toxin that also contains the animal’s digestive juices. Once stung, a victim is drugged into a compliant stupor while the digestive juices devour the victim from the inside, slowly turning them into a thick slush. Meanwhile, the beast siphons off its bloody meal using a lamprey-like mouth and its double row of fanged tooth bands.

A manta leech? Survivors call it the Devil’s Blanket. Given how it catches prey and eats, the name is fitting and accurate.

- Doctor Pedro Sangre, Alchemist and Privateer

Dire Dining of a Swamp Devil

It wouldn’t surprise me if this nightmare from Otherworld inspired the stories about kelpies.

- Doctor Pedro Sangre, Alchemist and Privateer

Most everything, save some undead, must eat. But few do that in a method more gruesome than a manta leech. As mentioned, survivors describe a circular mouth like a lamprey, ringed with a double row of tooth bands. Each row contains small, bat-like fangs it uses to rend a suitable hole in its prey to drain it dry. That is, once the creature’s toxin and digestive fluids have done their dire work, which can take up to several minutes depending on the size of their meal. During that time, the manta leech will keep its wings tightly wrapped and hooked around its prey. A literal warm hug of death.

When it hunts, the manta leech slides silently through its swampy home. They hunt during early morning or early evening hours when it’s not too cold or hot for a kill. A manta leech lurks just below the surface, relying on its camouflage to mask its approach. Once close, it leaps out to ambush its prey by wrapping its wings around the victim in an iron grip before it delivers a sharp stab with its stinger-tail. Manta leeches swim as fast as any racehorse, which allows them to knock any victim off their feet and into the water.

These deadly beasts prey on goats, geese, and similar creatures. Unsuspecting sailors are also not immune. Many stories describe a sailor walking the docks alone only to be wrapped tight in a manta leech’s hooked wings, then dragged screaming into a watery grave.

The venom is unique, but not a death sentence. Most alchemists like myself have a recipe to counter it. The trick is getting to the victim before they’re lost to a manta leech’s gullet.

- Doctor Pedro Sangre, Alchemist and Privateer

Predators and Prey

There are few creatures that can tackle the sinister manta leech, since most of its natural enemies never left Otherworld. On Earth, alligators and bull sharks were quick to take up that mantle. Survivors have told more than one story of a surprise rescue by an alligator or bull shark looking for a meaty meal of manta leech. Besides those two, freshwater sirens consider the manta leech a delicacy. Rumors persist about freshwater sirens who travel the swamps alongside fishing boats for the chance to sink their claws into an unsuspecting manta leech or two. More than one unlikely partnership has developed over the years between local fishermen and a nearby siren pod.

Myths and More

Coastal tales from around the Caribbean Sea whisper dark stories of missing sailors or livestock stolen from docks or river boats. Most are blamed on the manta leech, where the watery horrors swim. Those myths list all manner of suspected protections against the creatures. They range from wearing a garland of fresh garlic soaked in hot sauce to tossing bags of peppered frog legs into the water. The latter is supposed to be an offering for safe passage along a river.

No one has proven if any of those measures are effective. The stories are never clear and every survivor had their own method. But no matter the story, they all serve a similar purpose of warning travelers who wander the swamps to be careful of the water. If they wander out during early morning or evening, they may not come back.

Deadly Trade

As lethal as the creatures are, there are some that try to profit off the bloody beasts. If caught, a manta leech isn’t suitable to eat by people. Traces of their toxin lace every part of their body, even in small amounts. But that doesn’t mean the meat is useless. Manta leech meat is an effective lure to attract catfish, alligators, and bull sharks. Also, it isn’t the only part of these animals that is useful.

In particular, their mottled hide is durable when tanned and cured. A skilled tanner can make a durable vest other garment that has been known to turn aside sharp knives or a manta leech’s claws. They’re expensive, as catching a manta leech is risky, but for some sailors, fishermen, or others who work near the water in swamps, it’s almost a necessity.

A manta leech? That’s a living, breathing life lesson, deary. They’re a reminder that not everything that can kill you roars, shouts, or screams. Sometimes they might be that harmless-looking thing that glides by without a sound. An ugly price for not being respectful of old Mother Nature.

- Morowen Waxbend, sea hag of Port Royal

Game Notes

Manta Leech Vest

Quality: 1, Armor: 3

This vest is made from the hide of a manta leech. Popular for its four front pockets and one hidden inner pocket, it can turn aside most blades for a short time. Against anything beyond a blade, the vest has an Armor 1.

Manta Leech

Threat: 2

Suggested Complications

Venomous. A quick stab from its tail injects a thick dose of manta leech toxin. The poison leaves the character sluggish so that even the simplest action is performed from a desperate position with limited effect. At this point, the character is poisoned by this serious complication and will pass out at the end of a progress clock as determined by the game master.

Grip of Death. The manta leech latches onto the character using its pectoral fins and their needle sharp claws. Beyond any Harm that is imposed, the character is in a desperate position. They will need to work to get free. If a serious complication, the character has been knocked into the water as well.

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- Kummer Wolfe