If scuttlers are the foot soldiers of the skree army, then spitters are their archers.
Spitters are slower than their scuttler kin. They lack the blades or tough carapace of the scuttler, and in fact, their body is rather soft by skree standards. So, why then does their arrival to the battlefield send chills down the spines of their enemies?
Each spitter houses sacs of purple fluid within its body, leading to the much softer and less threatening appearance. They swell up and then contract their bodies and spray forth a purple acid from their mouths.
This acid is beyond the likes of any naturally occurring acid. It eats through anything it touches. Stone, steel, leather, skin, bone, and muscle all dissolve before it.
The only thing that seems to remain utterly untouched by this acid is other skree.
So, they unleash volley after volley of deadly rain, and they need not even worry about friendly fire. Shields that could stop the mightiest of arrows are of little use against a spitter as the metal will simply dissolve. The acid will stream down onto your arm, and before you know it, you will be in howling agony and begging for a scuttler to end your life.
In my journeys, I have seen many horrible things. I have seen armies storm castle walls only to be covered in burning pitch. I remember their screams to this day.
But, it just doesn’t compare to the gurgled cries of dwarves screaming even as their throat dissolves.
And, as with all skree, spitters are incredibly difficult to kill without dying yourself.
Almost their entire body consists of acid filled sacs, so should you hack through their most tender flesh acid will spray forth from the wound.
It will cover you from head to toe, and you will die a most agonizing death.
Thankfully, spitters are far rarer than scuttlers. I can’t be sure why this is. I do have a theory, however, that the skree function like a hive of insects and that they choose what will be born when. So, perhaps scuttlers are easier to grow and are somehow more cost-effective? Maybe spitters are more expensive, requiring more food or time to hatch?
I wish I knew more, but as I’ve said before… the skree are not forthcoming.
- Nicholas Wolfram, Professor of Monsterology at Lestria University