Bad Dog

Legend: Bad Dog, a Fatar serial killer

Though the urban legend has fallen out of vogue in recent times, every would-be visitor to the resort-world of Usum Usutti has heard of it - there’s no shortage of monsters in the northern wilds, but the roving packs of skulfs are the least of your worries if you find yourself wandering out there.

The trouble starts once you make it back to the campgrounds. When you’re getting drunk on cheap izugima around a campfire under the stars. When you’re getting cozy, sleeping it off in your bedroll…

Sometimes, there’s just one skulf who follows you back south. He’s not big, he’s not mean, but boy howdy, is he a Bad Dog. His eyes are just a little too intelligent for an animal. His mouth hangs open like he’s forgot it’s there. Like he’s fixated. He’s breathing heavy out there in the dark. They say he’s a Fatar, undercover too deep and too long to remember who he is any more.

Folks say that if you find yourself alone after dark, and Bad Dog is around, that little skulf might just start to stand upright, loping quietly to follow you on his rear legs while his front ones begin to lengthen, and that open mouth starts to hang lower than it should. If you walk beyond the range of the fire’s light, you’re done for, but what truly inspires terror is what happens if it realizes it’s been spotted. They say he breaks into a silent sprint to catch you, laughing like a shadow fox until he can drag you away.