It seemed the very air was alive, filled with thousands of small winged forms with hard bodies and sharp claws. The flapping of their leathery wings was nearly deafening, just as the swarm made the unfortunate scavenger blind.

“Get off, ya damn pests!” The scavenger cursed, swatting at one of the Rāks. The creature screeched, clawing against the leather as it tried to gain purchase.

The man huffed as the continued his run down the abandoned tunnels left by the founders. His sides hurt, his pack hung by a nearly destroyed strap, and he was fairly certain that it had lost most of its contents anyways. As he felt several sharp claws work their way through weak spots on his leather duster, the swarm started tearing at him with renewed vigor.

And suddenly, he stood in the light. On either side Rāk spilled into the moonlit wasteland of the abandoned city, covering the sky as if a great cloud. From the gouged side of the skyscraper, he could see the whole cityscape, swallowed by sand and broken down with time. In the far distance was the faint glow of the scavenger camp, but even if he shouted they wouldn’t step out at night to help him.

The scavenger bent over, his breath ragged and shallow. He kicked a rock off the ledge, and frowned when he couldn’t hear it hit the bottom. Sighing, he slid his pack off.

“God damn it all!” He spat. The main pouch had been sliced through and his supplies, including the rope, had spilled out. He breifly considered the black hole he’d emerged from, but nothing was worth possibly disturbing the Rāk nest again. His face turned red as he fought the urge to scream, and he shook the bag as if that would make the missing supplies and scavenge reapper. In a fit of rage, the scavenger threw the canvas bag off the ledge and watched it tumble in the wind. Immediately, he regretted the action.

Standing here wasn’t going to help him get down, and staying in the open was just asking for the swarm of  Rāk to come back. After routing for a while, he produced a long coil of wire, probably once used to transfer power in the building, but it had been dead for a long time. Just like the rest of the city.

Tying the wire around an exposed girder, then letting it slide off the edge of the building, it dissappeared into the darkness. With a sigh, the scavenger wrapped it around his arm, using his weight to hold him against the building’s side as he walked down it. Progress was slow going, but just as his arms were starting to go numb from chill and exertion, his feet touched something solid. Looking down, it appeared to be a platform made from a portion of the exterior wall that had detached and covered the chasm. From here, the ground was visible.

“I get outta this, I’m going straight. Pullin’ weeds has to be better than this,” The man grunted to himself as he tried to rub feeling back into his arm. He used a knife to cut some of the coil and tied the remaining cord around a pillar. It didn’t reach the ground, but at least the drop would be manageable. 

His arms already felt like fire, and without the wall to help reduce the strain, it felt as if they would be pulled from his sockets. But the scavenger wasn’t about to give up. Like most of his kin, he was stubborn, even when fighting the grave itself. He was nearing the drop point when he heard the sound of wings flapping as something moved between the great remnants. Looking around, the scavenger saw nothing, but the sound was definitely getting closer.

Something collided with him, hitting like a truck. He tumbled as he fell, landing on his back against the hard sand covered pavement. Wind knocked out of him, he struggled as he forced himself to stand, limping towards the distant scavenger camp. There was a warbling screech, followed by flapping. Turning, the scavenger looked behind him. Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he followed the motion.

The thing was huge, blocking out the moon as it stretched out its wings in preparation to dive. Behind it swarmed a huge colony of  Rāk, the bat-like creatures invigorated by the call. Faster than the unfortunate man could follow, the monster dived, and the scavenger disappeared into its massive maw.

Noq, the Night Queen

There are legends of a Rāk that terrorizes the eastern Angol sub continent and parts of the coastal Outlands. The Hallos tribe call the beast Noq, and say she is the brood mother of a rather large Rāk colony.

A reward has been offered for the head of Noq by the Holden Rangers, but many foolish adventurers have already died on this errand. Caution is advised.