I   w a s   e n j o y i n g   a n   e v e n i n g   d r i n k   i n   t h e
R e d   L i o n ,   o n e   o f   m y   f a v o r i t e   t a v e r n s   i n
G o o d w a y   d u r i n g   t h e   t i m e   I   w a s   i n d e n t u r e d   t o   D u k e   R a d f o r d ,   a n d   w a s   g e t t i n g
r e a d y   t o   l e t   f l y   w i t h   t h e   s t o r y   o f   h o w   I
o n c e   w o o e d   s i x   m a i d s   a t   t h e   s a m e   t i m e
w h e n ,   m u c h   t o   t h e   p r e t e n d e d   r e l i e f   o f   m y
c o m p a n i o n s ,   I   n o t i c e d   a   d w a r f   a t   m y
e l b o w .   H i s   s w o r d   w a s   d r a w n   b u t   l o w e r e d .
I   t r i e d   t o   i g n o r e   h i m ,   b u t   h e   w o u l d   h a v e
n o n e   o f   t h a t ;   h e   w a s   d e t e r m i n e d   t o   i n t e r r u p t   m e .

? A r e   y o u   F a u l k e n s o n   t h e   m a g e ? ?   h e
g r o w l e d ,   a s   h e   t h r u s t   h i s   f a c e   c l o s e   t o
m i n e .   H e   l o o k e d   l i k e   h e   h a d   j u s t   c r a w l e d
f r o m   t h e   g u t t e r .   H i s   b r e a t h   c e r t a i n l y
s m e l l e d   l i k e   i t .

? Y e s ,   I   a m , ?   I   s a i d ,   a s   I   m o v e d   m y   c h a i r
b a c k   a   f o o t   f o r   f r e s h   a i r .   ? A n d   w h o   a r e
y o u   a n d   w h a t   d o   y o u   w a n t ? ?

? I   h a v e   a u t h o r i z a t i o n   t o   t a k e   y o u   i m m e d i a t e l y   t o   D u k e   K a o r .   C o m e   w i t h   m e . "

? D u k e   K a o r ?   W h a t   d o e s   h e   w a n t ? ?   I   w a s
b e w i l d e r e d .   K a o r   t h e   T o a d   w a s   a   r i v a l   o f
m y   m a s t e r ;   h i s   t e r r i t o r y   l a y   a d j a c e n t   t o
Goodway. How did he know of me? Maybe
I  had,  on occasion, let fly with a tall tale
about my adventures, but it was usually
only to the group of close friends now at
the table. I likewise doubted the Duke
wanted me to perform a service; he
employed much more powerful spellcasters than myself.

The dwarf looked at me blackly. ?He
only wishes to talk to you and has promised me gold should I find you. His reasons
are his own. Get up." Apparently, the little
guy was having a bad day.

I looked at him straight on ? easy
enough while sitting down. ?I?m really
sorry, but I can?t go with you. You see, I
was just about to enlighten these?? I
looked around the table and dismissed the
word gentlemen ??these companions of
mine with the story of the time I met half
a dozen rich, beautiful, young maidens
and what became-?

My beloved companions had obviously
had too much to drink and were in a
particularly mischievous mood that evening, as they carried me to the dwarf?s
horse and tied me over its back. It must
have been the drink. They usually couldn?t
get enough of me.

A few bumpy hours later, I stood before
Duke Kaor. The dwarf had been paid off,
and the Duke evidently thought me valuable enough to entrust me with four of his
largest guards. We were now in the Duke?s
library. Around me were volumes on
shelves that covered all walls except for
that behind the Duke?s chair of state.
Golden statuettes and unusual devices of
magic lay on the shelves and floor, almost
hidden in the semidarkness. Moonlight
filtered through the large panes of glass
behind Kaor; it was now late indeed.
Despite the candles on some of the
shelves, Kaor?s bloated face was silhouetted and obscured.

?What do you know about the aurumvorax?? he asked without preamble.

?What do you mean, sir?? I was more
nervous than I had anticipated. The line of
questioning caught me off guard, and I
was recalling some unpleasant stories
about The Toad as well.

?Don?t play games with me, Fautkenson,?
he ordered. ?I know that one aurumvorax
was apparently quite fond of you while
you were training at the Academy. From
what I have heard about aurumvoraxes, I
didn?t think they were fond of anything.
What do you know??

I hadn?t thought that word of Goldie had
gotten beyond the few friends I had sworn
to secrecy a few years ago. I decided to lay
out the basic facts and hope he would be
satisfied with them while I tried to figure
out what he was after.

?Well,? I recited, ?the aurumvorax is a
small, shaggy, eight-legged animal usually
found around lightly forested hills, though
it may be encountered near the timberline
of some mountains. Its golden fur is usually long and well cleaned. As you may
know, sir, it weighs over 500 pounds in
adulthood and fears nothing; the little
monster can be extremely vicious and will
attack anything that looks edible or threatening.? Much the way you do,  I thought.

Kaor looked unimpressed. ?Tell me,? he
said slowly, ?about your pet.?

?Ah. My pet. Well, we had one at the
Academy that had been captured while it
was just about to come full term. It gave
birth to six hairless kittens that we separated from the mother. After two weeks,
their eyes opened and one took a liking to
me. Her fur came out in a golden brown.? I
was getting nostalgic. ?I remember she
couldn?t seem to get enough to eat, but she
and the others took sick. Everything we
tried to feed them came back up again.?

?Go on,? said the Duke. He sounded
bored ?  but his stare was making me
more nervous.

?Well, one day I was wearing a gold
bracelet that a girlfriend had given me. I
picked the kitten up to stroke her, and her
nose went straight to the bracelet. She
started to chew on it. I thought it harmless
enough until I noticed that Goldie was
actually chewing the chain to pieces with
her little teeth and swallowing the fragments. Before I could get it away from her,
she had eaten the whole thing."

Kaor looked less bored now, but continued to stare.

?Goldie perked up immediately afterward and had her health back within a
few days. The roots of her hair began to
take on a metallic-gold glint. That?s when I
named her Goldie. I reported this to my
mentor, and he suggested that we isolate
one kitten on an all-meat diet, give mine
meat supplemented with gold, and give
the rest of the litter other precious metals
with their meals. The kitten with a plain
diet died a week later, as did the others,
although the one fed platinum lived about
three weeks. Goldie grew rapidly, putting
on weight until she was too heavy to carry
after a month. She retained all the gold
she ate. She gnawed the bars of her cage
and any other metal that she could find.
Copper pots were a favorite; her teeth and
claws absorbed the metal from those.

“By the time she was two months old, I
had read everything I could find about
aurumvoraxes. I was the local authority on
them at the Academy." I puffed out my
chest a little. The Duke seemed to be eating it up. Maybe he wouldn’t do anything
rash to me. “I talked to every ranger and
druid who claimed to have seen aurumvoraxes, and pieced together that they are
solitary creatures, each defending a territory about 10 miles square. Every eight or
nine years, they seek a mate, spend a
week together, then return to their respective territories. Sometime between three
and four months later, the female gives
birth to about half a dozen kittens. She
weans them after about five or six years,
when they’re halfway grown, and forces
them to stake out their own territories."

The Duke raised a pudgy hand. “How
long did it take yours to reach that point?
Was it that long?”

“No," I told him. “Goldie was nearly
grown, that’s about a yard long and a foot
high at the back, in less than a year." I
could tell he was ready to ask the obvious
question and I beat him to it. “I believe it
was because we fed her a diet rich in gold.
Any aurumvoraxes in the wild must pick
up the gold they need to survive by eating
jewelry from unlucky travelers or by
actually digging up gold ore itself. The
aurumvorax is a burrowing animal with
eight sets of claws; no digging task is
impossible for it."

The Duke rubbed his chins. “But can
there actually be that much gold out there
— I mean, in the hills where gold has
never been found, but where an aurumvorax is known to live?”

I spread my palms, my confidence back.
“Well, where there’s an aurumvorax, there
must be gold. It cannot be otherwise. But
the gold will eventually be exhausted, and
little will be found in the creature’s lair.
Dwarves and gnomes are not fond of these
beasts, as you might well imagine."

The Duke seemed to consider this for a
moment. “What happened to your animal?
My sources tell me it was very loyal to
you, and eventually you were the only one
who could feed it."

My throat went dry for a moment. I
dropped my gaze, then words came easily
again. “Yes, sir," I said. “She would even let
me stroke her, though I had to wear
gauntlets in case she was in a playful
mood. She could bite my hand off without
meaning to do it. But she was gentle. . ." I
hesitated. “I’m afraid she died from poisoning, my lord. She got into a laboratory and
chewed on some metal flasks. There was
nothing we could do."

“Ah." The Duke sighed, his eyes focusing
on the floor in deep thought. “Oh, well."

“If I may, sir," I said after a pause, “why
do you have an interest in aurumvoraxes?”
Couldn’t hurt to ask — I hoped.

Duke Kaor looked up. The candlelight
showed he had a faint, fat grin. “As you
may or may not be aware, in two months
time I am going to the royal court in celebration of 30 years of service to His Majesty. I have been personally invited, and
His Highness intends to reward me for my
loyalty and devotion. I thought it would be
fitting to arrive wearing an aurumvorax
cape. For the ego, you know."

I was horrified but didn't show it. Granted
that the aurumovax wasn't an animal
you would usually call lovable, but . . .
"Where does your lordship mean to find
an aurumvorax?" I asked.

He stared at me, then shrugged. “I have
been made aware of the existence of one
of these creatures near my northern borders. I will personally lead an expedition
to dispatch the beast in two weeks, and
we will have the cape by the time I leave
for the royal audience. Thank you for
your time, Faulkenson. My men will show
you the way out. Ah — one detail. I’m sure
you can appreciate the contents of this
room; thus, you may take any item you
can spot in the candlelight as your
reward." He rose from the chair, and his
huge stomach jiggled as he walked toward
a side door — probably to the larder. A
burly guard reached for my arm.

“Your pardon, gracious sir," I asked hastily, “but how do you intend to kill your
aurumvorax?”

He turned and smiled in the dim light.
“With poisoned arrows. Why, Faulkenson,
you gave me the idea yourself."

    I made a half-bow. "Sir, may I recommend
leaving out gold with a coating of
poison, then attacking the beast with clubs
after it has finished its meal? An aurumvorax's
fur is woven so that it resists the
penetration of sharp objects, but blunt
weapons easily crush its internal organs --
and poisons, as I have learned to my sorrow,
work switfly on them."

    Kaor the Toad looked astonished, then
simply roared and shook with laughter.
"Yes!" My young man, that's an excellent
idea! Superb! A plan worthy of a true
mage." He looked around the dim room.
"You may take two of whatever you wish."
He left through the door, still chuckling.

"Thank you, good sir," I said as the door
closed. I had spotted my payment the
instant I had walked into the rom. Moving
behind the Duke's chair, I grasped the
pair of objects that rested on the window-sill
and placed them awkwardly beneath
my cloak. A few minutes later, the guards
showed me to a horse the Duke had set
aside so I could return to Goodway. I kept
up my look of awe and gratitude until I
was safely away.

Then I spat to the side as I rode and
smiled. “Good hunting, indeed," I whispered, and turned the horse northward .

Years ago, one of my instructors at the
Academy had taken a dislike to Goldie and
had tried to poison her. He was convinced
that poison was the only way to kill her
and escape detection; after all, who would
s u s p e c t   a   w i z a r d   o f   n o t   u s i n g   m a g i c ?   H e
w a s   c a u g h t ,   b u t   t h e   p o i s o n i n g   d i d n ? t   s t o p ;
m y   m e n t o r   o r d e r e d   i t   c o n t i n u e d   w h e n   h e
n o t i c e d   t h a t   G o l d i e   w a s   i m m u n e   t o   a l l
forms of poison. Nothing slowed her
d o w n .   A p p a r e n t l y   t h e   s a m e   i n t e r n a l   c h e m i s t r y   t h a t   a l l o w e d   h e r   t o   u s e   g o l d   a l s o
m a d e   h e r   i m m u n e   t o   a n y   n o r m a l   t o x i n .

T h e   D u k e   w o u l d   a l s o   b e   i n   f o r   a   s u r p r i s e
w h e n   h e   w e n t   t o   k i l l   t h a t   a u r u m v o r a x
w i t h   a   c l u b   a t   c l o s e   q u a r t e r s .   A u r u m v o r a x e s   a r e   s o   d e n s e   f r o m   t h e   g o l d   t h e y
e a t   t h a t   b l u n t   w e a p o n s   a r e   o f   l i t t l e   u s e
a g a i n s t   t h e m .   U s i n g   t h e   a r r o w s ,   w i t h   o r
w i t h o u t   p o i s o n ,   w o u l d   h a v e   b e e n   a   f a r
b e t t e r   i d e a .   A   c l u b b i n g   w o u l d   o n l y   e n r a g e
t h e  l i t t l e  b e a s t  ? a n d   t h e   D u k e   w o u l d   h a v e
t o   b e g   t h e   m e r c y   o f   t h e   g o d s   t o   s a v e   h i m self from the monster?s fury. The Nine
H e l l s   h a v e   n o t h i n g   l i k e   t h e m .   A n   o l d   r a n g e r   t o l d   o f   a n   a u r u m v o r a x   t h a t   h a d   c h a s e d
a   m a n t i c o r e   a n d   s e v e r a l   w y v e r n s   f r o m   t h e
h i l l s   i t   h a d   a d o p t e d   a s   i t s   h o m e .   A n o t h e r
t o l d   m e   o f   a n   a d o l e s c e n t   g r e e n   d r a g o n
t h a t   t r i e d   t o   d e p r i v e   a n   a u r u m v o r a x   o f   a
c a v e   a n d   l o s t   i t s   l i f e .

W a s   I   j u s t i f i e d   i n   l y i n g   t o   t h e   D u k e ,
l e a d i n g   h i m   t o   h i s   d e a t h ?   A y e ,   t h e   D u k e
w a s   n o t   t h e   m o s t   w i c k e d   o f   m e n ,   b u t   h i s
g r e e d   w a s   l e g e n d a r y ,   a n d   y o u   w e r e   w i s e
t o   c o u n t   y o u r   f i n g e r s   a f t e r   y o u   d e a l t   w i t h
him. When the mood took him, he could
be generous, as he had been tonight. He
c o u l d   a l s o   h a v e   h a d   m e   s l a i n .   H e   m i g h t
s t i l l .

A s   t h e   h o r s e ? s   h o o v e s   t h u n d e r e d   t o w a r d
t h e   n o r t h e r n   r e a c h e s   o f   K a o r ? s   t e r r i t o r y ,   I
p u l l e d   m y   t w o   r e w a r d s   c l o s e r   b e n e a t h   m y
c l o a k .   I   w o u l d   b e   l e a v i n g   t h e   a r e a   w i t h
D u k e   R a d f o r d   o n   t h e   m o r r o w ,   a n d
w o u l d n ? t   b e   b a c k   f o r   t w o   m o n t h s ,   w h e n
my Duke would himself be honored by His
Highness for his own service. By then?

T h e   t w o   m a s s i v e   c a n d l e s t i c k s   b e n e a t h
m y   c l o a k   w e r e   m a d e   f r o m   1 5   p o u n d s   o f
p u r e ,   s o l i d   g o l d   e a c h .   I   l a u g h e d .   G o l d i e
w a s   g o i n g   t o   l o v e   t h e m .

Other notes
T h e   a u r u m v o r a x   s o m e t i m e s   l i v e s   n e a r
t h e   b o t t o m   o f   a   s h a l l o w   r a v i n e ,   b u t   u s u a l l y
c h o o s e s   t o   d i g   a   b u r r o w   o r   d e n   i n   t h e   s i d e
o f   a   l i g h t l y   w o o d e d   h i l l .   I t   h a s   e i g h t   l e g s ,
a n d   i s   c o v e r e d   w i t h   g o l d e n   f u r   a b o u t   3 ?
l o n g .   M e a s u r i n g   3 ?   l o n g   a n d   a b o u t   1 ½ ?
h i g h ,   t h e   a n i m a l   h a s   c o p p e r - c o l o r e d   t e e t h
a n d   c l a w s ,   t h e   l a t t e r   u p   t o   3 ?   l o n g .   I t s
w h i s k e r s   a n d   p a r t s   o f   i t s   m a n e   a r e   b r o n z e
i n   c o l o r ,   a n d   i t s   e y e s   a r e   p o o l s   o f   s i l v e r
w i t h   g o l d e n   p u p i l s .   T h e   a u r u m v o r a x ? s
f l e s h   i s   e x t r e m e l y   d e n s e   d u e   t o   t h e   i n t a k e
a n d   r e t e n t i o n   o f   g o l d ,   w h i c h   a c c o u n t s   f o r
i t s   p a r t i a l   i m m u n i t y   t o   a t t a c k s   b y   b l u n t
w e a p o n s   a n d   i t s   i n c r e d i b l e   w e i g h t .   O t h e r
m e t a l s   a r e   a b s o r b e d   i n t o   i t s   s y s t e m   a s
w e l l ,   b u t   i n   l e s s e r   a m o u n t s .

A unique biochemistry grants the
aurumvorax a high tolerance to heat and a
total immunity to all poisons and gases.
They are undamaged by small, normal
fires, and magical fires cause only half
damage. Likewise, they are surprisingly
fast, strong, and tough, being able to drag
their own weight in prey. The jaw muscles
of the aurumvorax, being especially
strong, are used to clamp on to a victim,
and only death will loosen the grip.

An aurumvorax typically defends its
territory from all other comers, tolerating
most other animals but wary of large
predators and humans. Almost any animal,
however, may be considered prey if it
wanders within range. The lair itself often
extends deep into solid rock, which can
support the beast?s incredible weight. Rock
rich in gold ore is nearly always used as a
lair, though other locations may be chosen
so long as gold deposits, either natural or
from a civilized area, are available.

Mating occurs roughly every eight years,
resulting in a litter of 5-8 kittens, most of
which die young because of the rarity of
gold. Adults are sometimes forced to eat
one or more of their young if gold-based
nourishment is not available. Usually, only
one or two kittens survive to adulthood.
During the first year of life for the kittens,
the mother will be bad tempered, attacking anything within sight that might represent a threat to her young. If a PC obtains
a kitten before its eyes open, he may
attempt to befriend it, the probability of
which increases with the amount of food
and gold given to the kitten. Without gold
in the first three weeks of life, the kitten
dies. Kittens can detect any form of gold
instinctively and seek it out in addition to
red meat. If raised as a pet and supplied
with ample amounts of gold, food, and
attention, kittens grow rapidly. Typically,
an aurumvorax reaches full size in about
seven years in the wild, but the time may
be only a year in captivity with ideal conditions. Kittens raised in captivity grow
into strong, fiercely loyal pets if conditions
are ideal.

If killed and eaten, the flesh of the
aurumvorax produces severe metal poisoning. The eater must save vs. poison 1d4
turns after the meat is eaten; a successful
save means severe nausea and cramps
strike the victim (as per a  symbol of pain),
lasting 2-8 hours. Failure to save indicates
the victim goes into a coma and dies 10-60
rounds later. Only another aurumvorax
may feast on one of its kind. If, on the
other hand, the whole animal is roasted
and the remains heated until everything
burns off, 151-250 lbs. of gold and traces
of other metals remain, depending on the
size of the aurumvorax. In addition, if the
pelt is carefully removed and tanned to
preserve not only the hide but the goldcolored, metallic hair (the whole process
typically costing 4,000-5,000 gp for the
special procedure and materials), a durable but heavy garment may be made that
has a value in excess of 15,000 gp.