Piretorros

The Islingar residents that bravely live near the Islin swamps, especially in As Andaruña, are no strangers to danger. However few things are as terrifying to them as the bog witches and their pets called piretorros (peer-eh-tore-oh). Piretorros look like large elongated foxes, with four tall stilt-like legs that allow them to walk through deep swamp water. Their faces have four almond-shaped eyes, all peering in different directions, and strong jaws with needle-sharp teeth. The bog witches send out their pets in the dark of the night to terrorize and to bring back food and useful items. They have also been known to grab children or household pets and carry them away in their mouths. Houses built on stilts and risers are not tall enough to keep the piretorros out, as their tall legs position them to reach through windows or on to walk ways. Almost all windows have shutters or even steel mesh across them, and gods forbid anyone forget to close their windows at night lest their baby or family pet go missing. Killing a piretorro will only serve to anger the bog witches, who can cause floods, disease, or insect plagues in retaliation. So to appease them all, offerings will be left out on the walkways for them to take, contributed in turns by the community. These could be any manner of items or food that they hope the witches will find useful, tasty, or amusing.

Geographic Distribution

• Islingar