Dragon	-	Monsters	-	Dragon #124
-	-	Notes	-	-

The adventurer Haptooth had spent
many years exploring the vast, labyrinthine, subterranean ways of Undermountain, Waterdeep. Many and strange were
the tales he shared over sour brintmash
w i n e   a t   T h e   S i g n   o f   t h e   S t a f f   o r   b e f o r e   t h e
Council of Mages upon the Feast of the
Moon, at winter?s onset.

At the last Feast, Phantas, a member of
that Council, pointedly challenged Hap
tooth to do more than entertain by speaking of curious observations and dramatic
events. Rather, he demanded that Haptooth inform that prestigious group by
employing the adventurer?s access to the
unusual to increase the common knowledge of what is not common at all (as
Phantas so eloquently put it). None could
fail to note the sharp edge of the verbal
dagger he thrust at his peer, though it was
but one of a thousand such attacks he had
made on Haptooth over the years.

For his part, Haptooth seemed chastened
by the words of his rival and, indeed,
came to the next yearly Feast with words
o f   n o t e ,   f o r   h e   s p o k e   o f   i n q u i r i e s   i n t o   t h e
n a t u r e   o f   t h a t   c u r i o u s   c r e a t u r e ,   t h e
athcoid ? more commonly known as the
gelatinous cube.
 

Controversy over the athcoid has long
raged among the wise ? quite heatedly so
in the corridors of the Hall of BeastTamers and in the offices of the Imperial
Zoo of Amn, the keepers of which have
managed to keep a cube alive in captivity
for some 12 winters. Over and over, the
questions are asked: How intelligent are
the cubes? How amorphous are their
forms? Of what is their digestive fluid
composed, and can it be used as a weapon
or in alchemy (or, for that matter, in medicine or in the handling of beasts)? How do
athcoids mate ?indeed,  do athcoids mate?
Haptooth provided all at the Council of
Mages with answers.

?Even now,? he said, ?in the lightless
ways beneath us, these great creatures
glide noiselessly along, devoid of malicious
intent ? indeed, devoid of an conscious
?Even now,? he said, ?in the lightless
ways beneath us, these great creatures
glide noiselessly along, devoid of malicious
intent ? indeed, devoid of an conscious
ness at all ? but fully a menace to all who
encounter them. Even children know that
these nearly transparent, gelatinous monsters cannot digest metal or stone, but feed
on plants and beasts of all sorts by paralyzing those encountered, engulfing them, and
absorbing nutrients from such prey by
means of corrosive digestive fluids.

?Athcoids have no thoughts as we know
them, but rather respond automatically ?
and identically, in all cases ? to certain
stimuli. They cease to advance when they
encounter a cold surface or object, then
probe forward to seek a way past or
around it. Athcoids are attracted to vibrations or warmth, but seem devoid of hearing. When flowing over or around objects,
they seem quite fluid and mutable, but
return always to a rectangular or rhomboidal form when their surroundings
permit.

?An athcoid does not appear to communicate with any creature, nor can it be
controlled, save by use of the stimuli I
have already mentioned. When two
athcoids meet ? and this I saw happen ?
they merge to become one, of greater size
and of an apparently stable nature. This
monstrous combination has twice the
innate hardiness of either of its component creatures, though it eventually
divides into two normal athcoids, each
exactly like the original component creatures, which go their separate ways.

?More I can tell, gained from the darkest
researches. Sadly, athcoids are ignorant of
sex.? Mutterings and chuckles from the
Council followed the comment. ?Rather,
they reproduce by growing to sufficient
size, then split into two slightly smaller
creatures. These creatures then grow to a
stage which passes for adulthood within a
short time.

?As you all must know, athcoids anesthetize prey by means of a gummy secretion
which is absorbed into the bloodstream of
the prey through its skin. An oral antidote
is now available to counteract this effect.?
Haptooth held up a metal flask, then
returned it to its place beside another
such flask on the lectern before him. ?This
antidote is of my own devise. It?s expensive, but then so are the consequences if
you lack it.?

Haptooth paused, appearing to reflect
upon some matter. ?As to their digestive
fluids ? these are produced and held in
movable, elastic cavities or bubbles within
an athcoid?s body. When prey is engulfed
by a cube, one or more of these mobile
bubbles are shifted into contact with the
prey. Such fluid has no effect on metal of
any sort, and, as we have all heard, metal
objects are held for a time within the
creature, then expelled through its skin;
but the fluid has devastating effects on
flesh and cellulose.?

So saying, Haptooth undid his sash and
pulled his robe open. The crowd mumbled
grunts and oaths of amazement. Haptooths ribs were laid bare in an ivory
lattice on one flank. All about this gaping
hole, his flesh was gnarled and twisted like
half-melted wax.

?I recently fought my way through a
cube, when trapped in a dead-end passage,
and this was the result,? he said simply. He
continued to hold his robe open, turning
slowly to allow all in the Hall to see his
injury. Then, dropping his arms, he went
back to his lectern and took up the two
flasks, pocketing the antidote. As he undid
the cap on the other, he slowly walked
toward the audience, in the direction of
Phantas. ?Dearly, I paid for my labors, but
they were well rewarded. I captured a
sample of the digestive fluid,? he said in a
loud voice, whereupon he drenched the
astonished councillor with its contents.
?Now, the eminent alchemist Phantas can
in his turn increase the common knowledge of what is not common at all.?
 

He left then,  teleporting with a last
fiendish grin, as Phantas?s scream echoed
loudly through the hall.

Notes
1. Gelatinous cubes may flow through
openings as small as 1? across. They sense
all living, moving beings within 120? from
the vibrations and heat given off by such
creatures, and actively pursue such prey.

2. Being so totally mindless, a gelatinous
cube should be immune to all will-force
and mind-affecting magical powers ?
particularly enchantment/charm spells and
mind-reading talents. Charm  monster thus
has no effect upon them.

3. When two cubes meet and merge, the
resulting ?double cube? attacks as an 8-HD
monster with a total number of hit points
equal to the total of the two merged cubes.
This combination creature retains a size of
10? x 10? x 20?, the longest axis being
pointed in its direction of travel like a
thick-bodied (but square) worm. Otherwise, it is like a normal cube in all
respects. Division occurs either immediately upon contact with a third cube or
after a period of 2-8 days. Normal-sized
cubes divide after a period of six years.
Each of the two resulting cubes has 3 HD,
half the number of hit points the ?parent?
cube originally had, and a size of slightly
under 8? x 8? x 8?. These ?little? cubes
grow to maturity in three months. Technitally speaking, the gelatinous cube is an
immortal organism, since (unless
destroyed by adventurers, starvation, or
disaster) a cube never dies.

4. Cubes may move about underwater
with ease, though the contact poison
which paralyzes opponents is much diluted. Saving throws against this effect are
made at +6 in this environment.

5. If Haptooth?s antidote against a cube?s
paralysis is made available, it removes the
paralysis within 1-4 rounds after being
swallowed (an automatic reflex not
stopped by the paralysis). However, the
potion has no effect on any other form of
paralysis, such as that from ghouls or
carrion crawlers. The antidote is not
magical in nature.