Difference between revisions of "Monster Island"

You've set foot on soil now the domain of ravaging monstrosities. You take a deep breath and catch a scent of their spoor. It is harsh with a slaughterhouse reek. At your feet you see that you are standing in the massive footprint of one of the island's inhabitants. Impressive. Against the horizon you catch a hulking silhouette ambling slowly towards some unknown destination. Squaring your shoulders, you set out; it is time you showed them that a new monster prowls the island. Just as fierce and twice as deadly.

Once this island was abuzz with human inhabitants and all the noise pollution they produce, but now, as you turn your ear to the wind, the only sounds are the collection of screeches, howls, and bellowing roars of the monsters that now call this place home. Arching your back you add your roar to theirs and for a moment they are quiet. What is this new monster who walks among them, invading their hunting grounds? You will show them.

There is a secret to this island of monkeys, that if an infinite number of Rikti Monkeys were placed before an infinite number of typewriters the smell they'd produce would be unbearable. It is nearly unbearable here; the Rikti Monkeys chattering non-stop, dropping dung wherever they please, and prancing about with that unnerving rapidity fills you with the urge to kill every last one of them. You're going to enjoy pulping their little bodies.

About you lies shattered heavy machinery, evidence of the power the Devouring Earth monsters possess. Hulks of metal weighing tons have been tossed about and shredded like a dog's chew toy. You can only imagine what they did to the island's former masters. You vow to not let the same happen to you.

In this sheltered little corner, someone spent considerable time and effort to cultivate a garden of rare plants known for their reluctance to grow outside of their native soil. How many hours must they have spent carefully trimming their boughs, cleaning them of parasites, monitoring their nutrition and water intake? Where was this unknown gardener when the island was overrun? Did they remain here to await death alongside their leafy charges? Did they give the ultimate sacrifice for them? Did their remains provide nourishment for them? The plants do not deign to answer you.

You've read the briefs describing how hordes of Rikti Monkeys had been observed taking down much, much larger game and now you have found evidence to support that thesis. Rikti monkeys dance among the bones, playing strange, captivating rhythms upon them, delighting in their accomplishment. Then they turn their gaze upon you, sizing you up, and you imagine that they're wondering just what your ribcage would sound like played like a xylophone, your kneecaps clapped like castanets, and what your skull would look like smeared with Rikti Monkey dung.

On this distant, lonely island you find some Devouring Earth monsters who seem to have separated themselves from their brethren, or perhaps they were relegated this isle for some reason. What kind of rules must govern these creatures that some of their number could be found wanting? Were their rampages not destructive enough? Their roars not bladder-emptyingly terrifying enough? Did they fail to pay the proper obeisance to Hamidon, their lord and master? It matters not, they seem just as interested in grinding you underfoot as any other monster here.

Mankind has a long history of creating monsters that escape their control and ultimately turn on them. If there is an example of the opposite in effect, it is Hamidon and his Devouring Earth monstrosities. Hamidon has shown how little the rest of humanity understands what it means to be a true creator species. His creations are flawless and true to their creator. They adore him and he them and they obey him without question. Others have tried to replicate his success and failed to achieve a fraction of his ability. This island is a living testimony to Hamidon's power to transcend human limitations: observe and learn.

You have earned the title Zookeeper by defeating the hordes of Ruin Monkeys that plague Paragon City.