Burrowling

Burrowlings are small, furred humanoids distantly related to the mighty Marduks. Where their towering cousins wield strength and warcraft, Burrowlings rely on cunning, traps, and sheer numbers. Their bodies are covered in coarse brown or gray fur, often streaked with dirt and soot from their underground dwellings. They live in sprawling tunnel colonies beneath rocky hills, salt plains, or abandoned outposts, scavenging scraps of metal and stone to build crude weapons and defenses.

Burrowlings fear open combat but excel in ambush and harassment. They attack from concealed holes, dropping weighted nets, or hurling crude explosives made from mineral gases and bone fragments. When pressed, they scatter through narrow tunnels too small for larger pursuers, regrouping to strike again. Their language is a mix of growls and clicks, and they often decorate their burrows with symbols carved into bones or rusted plates.

While most are cowardly alone, a pack of Burrowlings fighting for their den or young can be vicious. They’re known to swarm wounded prey or enemies spilling blood inside their tunnels, driven by a primal instinct older than their intelligence. Despite their savage tactics, they’re skilled builders, miners, and scavengers, often trading ore and crafted trinkets with nomads or smugglers willing to tolerate their smell and mischief.