The sun beat down on the vast grass plains of wild country. Called that by the people who lived on the planet Acuada, wild country held the last of the world's Great Plains and forests that once stretched planet wide before the Imperium had begun colonisation and cultivation.
A small four-wheeled buggy nosily crossed the huge fields of tall yellow grass. From above it would have been easy to track its path by following the long buggy sized lines of crumpled yellow grass that had been etched into the land. The buggy bounced every once and awhile as it hit uneven terrain, jolting its gangly long haired driver up and down onto his seat.
For the hundredth time the driver cursed under his breath at the lack of quality of his vehicle. The bouncing hurt his arse and chafed the inside of his legs; it was slow and prone to breakdowns, the crude engine ate up precious oil and spat out foul smelling grey smoke from a rusty pipe behind the driver's seat. The worst part though was the noise, it was almost intolerable. One day he had forgotten his earmuffs and had been almost stone deaf by the time he had gotten back to the cabin. The buggy was wholly inadequate for Drahid's needs, the creatures he had been studying for years could hear, smell and see him coming from miles away.
Drahid loved wildlife and had taken up a career in studying the last of Acuada's great beasts. Hunted down in the other four continents of the planet as the emotionless, impassive tech priests of the Mechanicum made room for worldwide farmland, the wild animals of Acuada had been reduced to a single small continent in the south hemisphere. While perfectly arable, the continent labelled wild country by Acuadians was considered too small for interest by the Mechanicum's agents and was left to its own devices.
Drahid drove the buggy up the slope of a small hill and cut the engine. With a sigh he got out of the buggy and stretched his arms and legs, glad to feel the breeze on his sweaty limbs. During midday the grass plains of wild country could really heat up but after being forced to endure the sweltering heat inside the old buggy Drahid was not complaining. Sitting himself down and stretching out his legs he surveyed the ground before him. Off in the distance he could make out the largest creatures Acuada had to offer.
The creatures resembled the mythical dinosaurs of Old Terra and their huge bodies reached almost thirty metres long including their long necks and powerful tails. Drahid watched fondly as they moved their short stubby legs towards the Krakenny River. An interesting feature of these creatures, other than their gigantic size was that they had five legs. The fifth leg was an extra hind leg, even shorter and stubbier than the rest. Drahid had seen them use this leg only to help them rear up and increase their already impressive size when fighting predators and rivals. They were called Giantgemo, which Drahid was told translated to "Gentle Giant."
Drahid began to trek down the hill towards the creatures, he left the buggy and his earmuffs were they were, not wishing to upset or panic the Giantgemo with the buggy's excessive noise and smell. This was not because Drahid was afraid of the giant creatures. True to their namesake Drahid had rarely seen the Giantgemo engage in acts of violence without excessive provocation and despite their size Drahid had never felt in danger when around them. The giants were plodding closer to the Krakenny River, their normal drinking spot. The Krakenny River looked and felt huge to Drahid. It stretched from the upper north mountain regions of wild country all the way through the central grass plains and went out to sea in the south. He wondered if the river looked more like a small stream to the Giantgemo. As he got close Drahid could begin make out each individual giant in the herd. This close he could easily feel the massive vibrations the plodding giants made with every step. Drahid frowned. The herd appeared to be missing members from the last time he had visited a couple a days ago. Fight? Predators? He doubted both, he had never seen a fight turn fatal between rival Giantgemo and predators could only realistically take down the old and weak. Drahid could clearly see the only aging Giantgemo at the centre of the herd, it appeared to be still going strong.
Puzzled Drahid continued to walk closer. The tall yellow grass went up to his knees and more than once he slapped away a buzzing insect. As he got nearer he knew he had to be careful to not get trodden on, Giantgemo were peaceful but not exactly too caring of what they walked over. He could now see the tiny triangle shaped scales all over the creatures tough hides that blended in together from a distance, while small collectively the scales helped cool down the giants as the sun beat down on them. Drahid's frown deepened. Up close he could see that the Giantgemo weren't moving in their usual casual plod as it appeared from a distance. They were moving their tails and necks restlessly from side to side. They seemed to be almost zigzagging towards the river rather than moving in a straight line. It's like their fidgeting, as much as a giant can fidget. Drahid found himself very happy that he hadn't brought the buggy. It seemed to him that anything could set off the normally peaceful giants.
Drahid kept some distance as the Giantgemo reached the river. They were calling to each other with more frequency than usual, Giantgemo were normally quiet creatures discounting their thunderous footsteps. Their low melancholy calls filled the air as the leading members of the herd drooped their giant equine looking faces into the cool clear water. The Giantgemo were not the only creatures at the river. Birds of all kinds gathered around the Giantgemo, many perching on the giant's backs. Smaller animals were also present, but like Drahid, they sensed the Giantgemo's mood and kept their distance. Only a Balruiner ventured close. Drahid watched the reptilian creature anxiously as it drank from the river. The Balruiner's webbed feet and powerful tail that equated roughly half of the reptile's size were completely still as its head dipped down slowly into the river, its eyes moving slowly from side to side. Drahid was not fooled by its casual display, he knew that when in need the reptile would curl up into a ball and propel itself forward by rolling at frightening speed. While curled up Balruiners reached roughly the size of a small man and were one of the few creatures of wild country that Drahid was afraid of. Subconsciously his right hand drifted down towards his holstered autopistol, he had no wish to use it against any creature but he also had no wish of allowing the Balruiner's lethal jaws and needle sharp teeth sink into him.
Evidently the Balruiner felt it could escape the wrath of the giants if it needed to. Drahid tried his best to ignore the lethal predator, as it appeared to be content to simply drink from the river and barely spared Drahid a glance. Drahid realised the last Giantgemo at the end of the herd was walking peculiarly, it seemed to dislike putting weight on its left hind leg and was lowering itself every time it did so it could use the shorter fifth leg that was normally only used to rear themselves upwards. Intrigued Drahid moved himself around the herd so he could see the Giantgemo's left side.
Drahid gasped as he finally got round to look, the giant was around middle age, about thirty years old. It was powerfully built and was probably one of the main protectors of the herd when danger arrived from predators and was obviously one of the alpha males. But it was struggling and Drahid could now see why. There were three deep bloody gashes on the Giantgemo's left hind leg and another two on its flank. Red blood flowed freely onto the yellow grass. Appalled by the terrible damage that had been inflicted on the poor beast Drahid let out a small moan and moved forwards slightly.
Looking closely he could make out small objects, no bigger than a finger dropping from the wounds in the creatures flank. He could also see bigger objects, imbedded in the gashes and cuts. Drahid couldn't work out what they were, they seemed sharp and tough, yet organic. Teeth? Maybe bone? They looked like neither and a foul looking liquid trailed down the Giantgemo's flank onto the ground as well. Carefully he slowly approached the giant. His footsteps made crunching sounds as got closer. He stooped down and picked one of the smaller objects up. It was a grub, they were all grubs, it felt hard and was obviously dead. Sickened he dropped it back to the ground and looked back up at the struggling giant.
He saw that his initial thoughts were somewhat correct. The objects imbedded seemed to made of some sort of tough cartilage, while the liquid was a kind of purple ichor. It smelled awful and Drahid gagged slightly. Some of the cartilage objects were obviously teeth or claws, they all looked like some kind of body part. Something or something's had attacked the Giantgemo and had bitten or clawed so hard that bits of their teeth and limbs had been snapped off and left imbedded in the giants armoured hide. Drahid felt a shiver go down his spine, yes something had attacked the Giantgemo, but he had no idea what kind of creature or creatures would attack so viciously that they would have no compunction in losing pieces of themselves.
Drahid began to trek back towards his buggy an ominous feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.