Water Creature - Amphibilai

Amphibilai (singular – Amphibulus)

Pack-hunting, fresh-water blood suckers. Each pack consists of one queen and anywhere from 20-50 hunters.

The queen has an enormous, disk-like head that floats on the surface of the water like a lily pad and conceals her fat, squat body below. She chooses the prey when it wanders too close to her and emits a high-pitched croak, signaling the hidden hunters to attack.

These hunters measure 6-8 inches high. They have humanoid bodies that are green, webbed feet and hands tipped with tiny claws for gripping, and powerful hind legs, similar to a frog’s, that enable them to leap distances up to 5 feet. Their heads appear overly large on their tiny bodies with their bulging eyes and wide mouths. Their jaw is hinged such that they can open their mouth wide enough that their lips appear to form a complete circle. Four long, sharp teeth – two upper, two lower – are used for latching onto their prey. A tube-like appendage extends from the bottom of their mouth and proceeds to siphon blood into an expanding sack beneath their lower jaw to take back to the queen. Once full, the hunters are free to drink their fill.

The queen uses the blood, first, for nourishment and, second, to fertilize her eggs. Without frequent soaking in blood, the eggs would expire. The queen only lays eggs once a year and no more than 30 eggs at a time, therefore, successful attacks are essential to the packs survival.

Amphibilai can breathe both underwater or on land, enabling them to attack from either environment. The queen, however, is rarely found out of the water because her squat body and awkward head make her highly vulnerable on land. If she were killed, the hunters would soon die off without her to coordinate their attacks.

Although they are small, do not underestimate their effectiveness. They can bring a human down in less than a minute and suck them dry in under ten. On rare occasions, they have been known to have success with animals as large as a bear.