Banshee
Origin: Ireland
Known Abilities: Emitting paralyzing scream (also known as “keening”)
Favorite Food: Tea with lemon and honey
Comments: Don’t forget your banshee blockers!
* * *
Bigfoot
Origin: American Northwest
Known Abilities: Super strength, heightened senses
Favorite Food: S’mores
Comments: They will smell you coming a mile away.
* * *
Chupacabra
Origin: Central and South Americas, Puerto Rico
Known Abilities: Night vision, enhanced olfactory sense
Favorite Food: Blood (preferably human)
Comments: Worst. Breath. Ever.
* * *
Cynocephalus
Origin: Southern Asia
Known Abilities: Enhanced senses
Favorite Foods: Peanut butter, biscuits
Comments: The Chihuahua types are tough hombres.
* * *
Gargoyle (Gargouille)
Origin: France
Known Abilities: Flight, transmutation
Favorite Food: Rock lobster
Comments: Stone-hearted, literally and figuratively
* * *
Redcap
Origin: Scotland
Known Abilities: Unrelenting stamina
Favorite Food: Wayward travelers
Comments: Check your ego and call for backup. They cannot be outrun.
* * *
Tanuki
Origin: Japan
Known Abilities: Shape-shifting
Favorite Foods: Nuts and berries
Comments: Excessively affectionate, but loyal
* * *
Troll
Origin: Scandinavia
Known Abilities: Enhanced strength
Favorite Food: Whatever a friend is eating
Comments: Share a cookie with one and you’ll have a friend for life.
* * *
Yeti (aka Abominable Snowman)
Origin: Himalayas
Known Abilities: Super strength, heightened senses
Favorite Food: Yak
Comments: Big and angry. That about sums them up.
* * *
Additional creatures (pending verification):
Barghests
Origin: Northern Engla—
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TRANSMISSION INCOMPLETE.
* * *
DMW case files are presented in the following format: #XXXXX-XXX-XX.X. This ten- or eleven-digit code consists of both letters and numbers.
The initial series of letters and numbers represents the investigating ranger and the case number involving that ranger. These particular files are associated with Sam London (SL). As this is Sam London’s first case, the files are designated as 001.
The second series of three numbers indicates the applicable DMW offense code. In this instance, offense code 180 is used. This code encompasses those crimes defined as sedition. In the department’s use, sedition relates to any and all attempts to undermine or subvert Phylassos’s Law.
The final number pertains to the section of the file for those files with multiple sections. Numbers that appear after the section and are separated by a period indicate subsections.
* * *
SUBJ: This is the subject or subjects of the section.
SOURCE: This notes the source or sources of the information included in a particular section. These sources are designated by an abbreviation. Below is a list of relevant abbreviations:
SA: Special Advisor
MC: Mythical Creature
ODB: Operational Debriefing
MR: Medical Records
SR: Surveillance Records
BG: Background Investigation
WS: Witness Statement
PR: Public Record
DATE: This is the date on which the incident or inquiry took place.
FORMS: In some instances, case files include forms used by DMW personnel to record information from witnesses or intelligence sources related to an investigation. For example, FD-11 is an Activity Report that draws on information procured from witnesses, informants, and surveillance to monitor important persons related to a case.
SPECIAL CLASSIFICATIONS: Files that are administrative in nature are given a classification code in the 400s. For example, classification 470 is reserved for personnel records. Specific file numbers of these records have been withheld due to privacy concerns.
* * *
Death Valley National Park
California, Nevada
nps.gov/deva/index.htm
* * *
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
North Carolina, Tennessee
nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
* * *
Redwood National Park
California
nps.gov/redw/index.htm
* * *
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
California
www.fs.usda.gov/stnf/
* * *
Shey-Phoksundo National Park
Nepal
dnpwc.gov.np/protected_areas/details/shey-phoksundonationalpark
* * *
Kuapnit Balinsasayao National Park
Philippines
abuyogleyte.gov.ph/about-abuyog/places-to-visit/kuapnit-balinsasayao-national-park/
* * *
Support America’s National Parks
National Park Foundation
Official Charity of America’s National Parks
nationalparks.org
I think of an acknowledgment as a metaphorical tip of the hat, but for the following folks I’d have to take the hat off and fill it with chocolates and flowers and eternal gratitude:
Dolores for making it possible.
Tiffany for making it heartfelt.
Valentina for making it worth it.
Lacy Lalene Lynch and Dabney Rice at Dupree/Miller & Associates for making it happen.
Random House and Delacorte Press for making it real.
Krista Vitola for making it (way) better.
Colleen Fellingham for making it betterer. (Stet!)
Sarah Hokanson, Kevin Keele, Julius Camenzind, and Chris McClary for making it beautiful.
Monkey Max for making it magical.
And all the family and friends who encouraged, supported, and humored my aspirations over the years, thank you for helping make a dream come true.
When he’s not hammering out the next Sam London novel on his 1935 Royal Deluxe typewriter, Todd Calgi Gallicano is a ******** Despite pressure from the media and the government, Todd remains tight-lipped when it comes to questions about the Department of Mythical Wildlife and his sources within the secret organization. He lives with his wife in ******** where he helps raise his daughter and tries to steer clear of gargoyles, chupacabras, and other nefarious creatures. Visit mythicalwildlife.com for more top-secret information.
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Guardians of the Gryphon's Claw Page 29