And it wasn't just the plants. The deeper he went, the more he noticed the "small" inhabitants of the Great Orrath… creatures that would have been apex predators back on Earth, relegated to mere background hazards here.
A harsh, rhythmic scraping sound made him freeze mid-stride. Swarming around a pool of the acidic tree sap was a pack of pests that vaguely resembled armored rodents, except they were the size of a big house cat. Their thick carapaces were a rusted, blood-iron red, bristling with jagged spikes that gouged the damp moss with every heavy step.
They were busy dismantling the carcass of a massive wolf. Instead of merely biting, their blade-like teeth snapped like heavy iron shears, effortlessly crushing through bone while they spat a smoking, corrosive fluid onto the meat. They reduced the creature to a dissolving slurry that they greedily slurped up, stripping the carcass clean in a matter of seconds.
