Kutu'ormur

Prosperity Worm

Domesticated animals in the Realm come in all sorts. Many citizens do not think of a large 6 to 10 m long worm weighing about 3000kg covered in lubricating slime as cute, domestic, or a fun family pet. But, the Dwarves have a very unique perspective when it comes to the Kutu'ormur.
These large worms have been domesticated by the Dwarves for several thousand years. The first records of Kutu being captured and bred by the Dwarves orginate some 24000 years ago. Copies are held in the Citadel of Skala-Tuq and can be viewed publically. They detail how a small mining consortium owned by Dwarves and Humans first developed the techniques required to capture, breed and eventually tame these large worms.
Now, several .... well, all serious, companies that wish to mine and compete with the Dwarves have at least one domestic Kutu'ormur that they can deploy when mining.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Kutu are large worms. They are lacking in major skeletal structure and have a small amount of bone mass specifically intended to protect their heads and push dirt aside. They have no limbs or additional appendages.

Genetics and Reproduction

Kutu have a 5 year reproductive cycle. Biological gender transitions during the 10 year cycle so that male worms become females and females become males. No reproduction can occur during this transition. On the 5th year when the transition is complete Kutu seek out as many mating opportunities as they can. It is during this year window that Kutu can most easily be captured as they will congregate in large colony mating balls deep underground completely focused on mating.
Impregnated females will often lay between 50 and 100 eggs. These eggs are pearlescent sphere roughly 10cm in diameters of nacre, also known as aragonite, a type of calcium carbonate. They are laid as the worm moves through the earth in 'strings.' The distance between each egg being roughly the length of the mother worm.
A fully mature and sized worm can lay a 'string' of eggs 1km long imbedded in its trail tunnel.

Ecology and Habitats

Kutu are native to the Child. They are found deep underground. Mining companies have brought them to their various sites around the Realm, but have not been able to breed outside of Ti Sti'duram'iti.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Kutu'ormur disovle rock to consume the heavy metals and rare mineral contained with in it. The large circular mouth of the worm is filled with extremely strong teeth and muscle which is uses to eat and crush rock as it moves through the earth. Additionally, Kutu have spitting pores that surround their mouth which spit potent and highly toxic gastric acid onto the rock that it eats.
The two mechanisms or physical crushing and chemical pre-digestion enable the Kutu to turn rock in front of it into a slurry toxic slush that it can 'slurp' as it moves. This slurry is call "The Soup" by miners. The Kutu eat's The Soup and excretes a lubricating slime as waste through its pores. The heavy metals and minerals are not excreted, as they are required for hibernation.

Biological Cycle

Kutu remain active for the first 25 years of their life. At that point, they encase themselves in a cocoon of narce and hibernate for an average of two decades. During this hibernation hunters who find them, kill them claiming their transforming bodies and the farce cocoon. Hibernating Kutu are very valuable as during this hibernation their bodies condense any heavy metals that they have consumed into spheres. Depending on where the Kutu is found hunters can harvest quite a variety of heavy metals. Common metals in the south Ti Sti'duram'iti are:

• Titanium
• Gold
• Silver
• Platinum
• Nickel
• Zinc
• Palladium
• Lead
• Tin
• Copper

Additional Information

Social Structure

None.

Domestication

Yes. In general all successful mining companies typical have one or access to a Kutu. They are used when a vine or deposit of a heavy mineral is found. When released near the mineral source the Kutu will borrow along and/or around it devouring the trace metals in the surrounding earth. The Kutu will not devour the pure or concentrated metals. This makes them very useful as miners can follow along in their trail tunnel and quickly mine the vine/deposit.

Facial characteristics

The face of a Kutu is one large mouth the entire diameter of its body filled with rows and rows of rock crushing teeth surrounded by dozens of acid spitting pores. Kutu have no eyes, ears, or any facial features as such. Just death teeth and death spit.

Average Intelligence

Low

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Kutu sense the world around them through means unknown.
Show Spoiler

It is known by the Medicaments that the Dwarf handlers of the Kutu have determined how these worms sense their surroundings. Research documents archived for safe keeping in the Citadel of Skala-Tuq detail the worm's capacity to generate ground piercing high frequency electromagnetic waves lengths in the range of 10 MHz to 2.6 GHz. The Paragons reminded the Dwarf researchers who discovered these details that such Wisdoms were Divergent.

On average adult Kuu have an effective all around line-of-sight with a radius of 50m which makes them almost impossible to surprise.

Lifespan

25 years.

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Average Height

2 m in diameter for an adult.

Average Weight

3000kg for an adult.

Average Length

6 - 10 meters for an adult

Average Physique

Incredibly hard to kill. They are very tough and will spit acid, crush, or eat things to defend themselves.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Kutu are dark brown and earth tones. They typically blend into the earth that they are eating through. They are easily detected by animals that can sense vibration, or who have extra-sensory capacities such as infra-red vision as they radiate a significant amount of heat and their 'slime' tends to remain above ambient temperature for several minutes.

Geographic Distribution

• Ti Sti'duram'iti

Size Type -
Large
Danger Level -
Medium to High
Speed -
Fast. They burrow really well. Their front ends are super deadly, but they are easy to track due to a slime trail.
Armour Class -
Very Good, because of very strong muscular along their bodies with makes them resistant to blunt or crushing damage. Also, their mouths are protected by very resistant bone/metal armour plates.
Attacks each round -
1 Bite - deadly to almost every creature given its large mouth (2m diameter),
and 1 Acid spit attack - deadly to almost every creature due to the acids ability to dissolve rock
Reach -
5ft for the bite.
40ft for the acid spit.

Special Qualities -
Track by anything in a 50m radius (immune to invisibility, darkness etc) and burrowing.
Treasure -
If the Kutu is near 25 years of age it will have several spheres of heavy metals stored in its body. The average value of these spheres will 30,000 gp.
Tactics -
Typically, they will flee. If they can not they will attempt to eat whatever is hurting them.

---

From the Kutu Barn of the Ko'loto's Mining Company.

"Now, Beeboop, or BB as we call them. They've been with us for 6 years. Raised them from an egg we did. That's the best." The old dwarf patted the large worm on the side with a thickly gloved hand. "Oh, ya. Sure. You got to get used to the slime. Can't have a Kutu without the slime." In the bright light of the company barn the slime was slightly iridescent and beautiful as it dripped from the glove. The Kutu's body rippled revealing the layers of dense muscle that it used to move and that protected it from harm. It's heavily armed and armoured head began to shift back towards the four citizens.
"HoooPaPaa, BB," the dwarf vocalized. "Here, we'd better move on. They're getting all annoyed."

The dwarf quickly climbed out of the large metal pen which was the Kutu's home, quickly followed by the three others. A Dragonborn, Human and another Dwarf. Once out of the pen the rest of the barn was visible. It was a large cavern some 100 meters long, 40 meters wide and 20 meters tall. The floor where they were contained 4 pens, metal containers 10 meters wide and deep with wire net coverings, and 20 meters long. The other 60 meters of the barn was storage for supplies machinery, and vehicles and the roof was a complicated system of gantry and crane work.
Each pen contained a Kutu. Four Kutu. A clear indication of the wealth of the company.

"Now," said the old dwarf, "Why do you want to a Kutu? As you can see, these darlings are not milk cows or ba ba sheeps. What are you looking for in the deep down under?"