Pests and Pets

© RDD Wilkin / Spilled Ale Studios

Humanoids aren’t the only creatures living on Ramshackle. Many beasts would call the city home if they could speak (and some can).

The city attracts seabirds which nest all over its rooftops. Any seabirds native to or that might travel through subtropical climate zones could be found either in Ramshackle or flying over nearby waters. This includes: frigatebirds; tropicbirds; brown, masked, and red-footed boobies; and the occasional visiting albatross or petrel.

Rats are also a persistent pest the arrival of which aboard visiting vessels is inevitable, frequent, and unstoppable. They nest in dark corners within attics and in the forgotten holds of vessels used in the construction of the city’s rafts.

A similar invasion occurred sixty-odd years back when a shipment of ring-tailed lemurs escaped their cage and got into the city. They survived and thrived, living off insects and opportunistic scavenging of whatever food they could steal from Ramshackle’s marketplaces. These days, Ramshackle’s lemur population are an expected, iconic sight. Troops of the primates claim territory near markets and fishing wharfs, where they line the rooftops in wait for their moment to strike.

Many other animals from all over the world are bought, sold, and kept as pets in Ramshackle. This includes exotic beasts, including magical creatures and even artificial hybrids. Some of these pets escape into the wild. Most such events though are isolated cases. However, groups of escaped animals can thrive groups of animals may thrive as the lemur population did. Parrots are popular pets and also relatively common escapees. Ramshackle’s wild parrots tend to congregate around the garden rafts, where it’s easier for them to find their dietary staples such as seeds, fruit, nectar, pollen, and the occasional arthropod.