To celebrate the release of the Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Adventure Kit, Skull Island eXpeditions is releasing the first in a new line of stories: Unleashed Legends. The first story, “Blood in the Water,” includes two of the playable characters from the adventure kit: the gatorman sharpshooter Longshops and the bog trog mystic Lurk. In addition, a familiar character enters the mix: Alten Ashley, a monster hunter who exemplifies the kind of wild adventure Unleashed is all about.

Because I’m the author of this particular piece, I thought I’d tell you a little about how the story came together. It was really fun to write, but like all stories, I encountered some unforeseen challenges.

First, I knew I wanted to tell a story that reflected the savage adventures of Unleashed. I wanted action-packed and visceral storytelling with plenty of blood, bullets, and tension. My inspiration came from an unlikely source: a classic horror movie that includes all the elements I wanted. I won’t tell you which movie inspired me, but I’m sure those familiar with it will spot my homage pretty quickly.

So, I had my story idea, centered on the hunt for a truly terrible monster. I then needed to decide which characters to use from the Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Adventure Kit. I personally like writing about non-humans, and both gatormen and bog trogs really appeal to me. Finally, I wanted a third character readers could more easily relate to, who could present the human perception of the events in the story. Alten Ashley was an easy choice. The famous monster hunter from HORDES is a perfect fit for the Unleashed tone, and he even represents a character players can easily replicate in the game.

Once I had my characters, I started writing. This is where the challenging bit came in. Longchops and Lurk are definitely non-human in the way they approach things—hell, they’re not even mammals—and their culture, language, and even the way they think is incredibly different from humans. As it turned out, this was both a blessing and a curse. It’s always fun to write outside the box and present a worldview that is entirely different; on the other hand, trying to think like an eight-foot-tall carnivorous, anthropomorphic gator can present certain difficulties.

Take language, for example.

Gatormen have trouble speaking human languages—they simply don’t have the proper anatomy. Their own language, Quor-gar, is equally difficult for humans to speak, as it uses sounds, postures, and body movements (a tail!) to convey information and nuance. So, you’re left with a situation in which gatormen and humans can learn to understand each other’s languages but can’t effectively speak them.

Bog trogs are a little easier. Their language, Quor-og, has more spoken words akin to human tongues and is therefore easier for humans to speak. But bog trogs also incorporate shifting skin tones to convey ideas, something humans obviously can’t do, so they’re left with using a simplistic form of the language.

So, what do all these language shenanigans leave us with regarding our three main characters? Well, Longchops can speak Quor-gar and understand Quor-og and Cygnaran; Lurk can speak Quor-og and Cygnaran and understand Quor-gar; and Alten Ashley can speak Cygnaran and can speak and understand Quor-og. I’ll leave that for you guys to sort out, but don’t worry—it all makes sense in the story.

The last important element to get right was the antagonist, the monster that would drive the story. I won’t spoil the surprise, but I’ll just say it’s one of the biggest and baddest beasties in all of western Immoren, and our heroes definitely have their work cut out for them.

I hope you’ll download “Blood in the Water” this Wednesday when it releases alongside the Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Adventure Kit. I had a blast writing it, and I think you’ll have a blast continuing the adventures of Longchops and Lurk in your Unleashed RPG campaign.

Aeryn