Urgles and their Traps - Zquidx

Urgles and their Traps - Zquidx

"Grandma, grandma, can you tell me again about the legend of the Urgles, and how they got their powers?"

The old woman smiled dearly at her grandson, tucked into bed with a quilt raised to his chin. Urgles were, of course, his favourite creatures. He always seemed to prefer stories about them over the more heroic tales.

"The Urgle, as you know, is a huge, monstrous, fleshy creature", She started. "Composed of limbs and other body parts, the Urgle injests the life force of its victims... as well as the meaty bits."

"Yeah, yeah Grandma, I know what he's made of! Tell me about his powers and how he uses his traps!"

She chuckled softly at his eager impatience.

"Okay, alright. I suppose you've been introduced to the Urgle enough times," She complied.

"You already know it preys on wild animals and stray pets. But what's even more interesting is how the Urgle overpowers foolish heroes who dare to challenge it. Humans are more sophisticated — that means clever — so, the Urgle cannot simply latch onto and devour them like it would for small animals."

"Urgles, despite their hideous appearance, might be even smarter than us. Simply put, they recognize your strength, and use it against you. After they consume you, you become part of it, and so do your memories and emotions. But above all, the Urgle will have learned how to defeat you, and others like you. Like a brain that is always learning."

The boy's eyes widened. "Is that why the Urgle's traps can do such powerful things?"

"Indeed." Grandma continued, "Let me tell you the story of three heroes who once tried to conquer the mighty Urgle."

"The Urgle was first approached by a Warrior, who was strong and fearless. He bragged about his victories all through the realm, wishing to add one more conquest to his boast that day. Believing his strength was unrivaled by any man or monster, our hero rushed into battle, using his great helmet to invoke a burst of speed and fury. The Urgle, however, sensed his impatience and retrieved back into layers of flesh, allowing the Warrior to unleash his arrogant blows. Skin was split and blood was spilt, but the Urgle's flesh always repaired itself. Of course, the swordsman became tired, and the Urgle saw its opportunity. Snake-like tendrils sprouted from the creature and latched onto the Warrior, sapping out all his energy. The Urgle channeled this strength-turned-tiredness into its traps, which from then on gained the power to inflict Weakness onto its enemies."

The boy had an expression of amazement and anticipation.

"A hopeful Knight who had heard of the Warrior's tale sought to defeat the Urgle. How foolish the Warrior was to be baited into exhaustion, the Knight told himself. He crept up to the Urgle cautiously, shield lifted over his chest. The Urgle noted the Knight's hesitation, and waited. And waited even more... Until the Knight become too comfortable and lazily lowered his shield. Suddenly the meaty tendrils erupted from the flesh, snatching the shield ouf of the his hands and smashed it into pieces! The Urgle's traps bombarded the Knight's armor with piercing shards, Breaking his Armor and crippling him."

The boy yawned. "What about the last hero?"

"Both the tragedies of the Warrior and the Knight caught the attention of a skilled Archer, who vowed to finish the Urgle once and for all. Surely, the limited reach of swords was the downfall of the two heroes, but the Archer could strike from afar! By this time there was a large bounty on the Urgle's head, which the Archer dreamt of day and night. He positioned himself, loaded his first arrow, and thought back to the wealth he could achieve. As it turns out, the Archer could not push the distraction of riches aside: stray arrows found themselves on the ground away from their target while his quiver gradually became empty. Little did he know, the Urgle had collected the arrows and was planning a counterattack. The Urgle tossed out its traps, which launched a volley of the archer's own arrows back at him, striking him in his face and eyes, rendering him Blind. The Archer would never shoot straight again."

At this point the boy had fallen fast asleep, but Grandma silently finished telling the story.

"And that's the story of how the Urgle finds flaws in one's greatest strengths, just like how its traps Weaken, Armor Break, and Blind its enemies. The Urgle teaches us a valuable lesson: attitude is key. Being humble — unlike the Warrior, diligent — unlike the Knight, and focused — unlike the Archer, are more important qualities than the skills you might possess."

The old lady kissed her grandson on the forehead goodnight and blew out the candle.