Bonesnatchers
Stealer of Bones
The Duergar are nothing but foul grave robbers, who do not care about the remains of others. For them, everyone is but a tool.
Something to be used and broken over a stone.
From the many bogeymen that Drow culture made up, one of the more well-known creatures are the Bonesnatchers. Diabolical Duergar who steal the bones of Drow for their tools.
While the details may differ, all speak of the horrific ways they remove one’s skeleton from their body. To scare the children from misbehaving or to further the propaganda.
The Tale of Duergar
They come for your bones
The stories go Duergar roam around the settlements of Drow, sometimes even below them. Hiding in the shadows, traversing through tunnels beneath. All to seek materials for their tools and pickaxes. Mainly bones used for their handles instead of wood.
Hence why they seek out the Drow, lurking about to find the strongest bones they can fetch. They can be from graveyards, prying open tombs to steal the skeletons of descendants.
Others meanwhile seek the bones of the living, spying upon the people from sewers entrances. They witness misbehaving kids kick adults in the shins, only to steal those bones for themselves. Often while the child’s asleep, breaking into their home.
How they remove the bones is different with each tale. Sometimes they do it quietly and don’t even wake up the child, other times they pull it off their muscle in a gory fashion. By the time one would find the victim, they either bled out or were already without their legs.
Drow Propaganda
The myth might have come from one of the Drow's many attempts at Propaganda. Seeing the usage of bones amongst Duergar culture, they tried to demonise it as a barbaric idea. As such, Bonesnatchers became a popular rumour amongst Drow society.
Duergar see the depiction as offensive against their traditions. With it, the divide between the two groups only grew more, with some even insulting Drow down to their bones.
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