Ironblight

Ironblights are strange creatures that are highly magnetic. They follow unseen magnetic currents in the earth in their slow wanderings. They also emit magnetic fields of their own, sometimes moving iron-rich earth and stones seemingly at will. In the right surroundings, Ironblights can even walk on walls and ceilings. Oddly enough, their prolonged proximity to iron lets it rust at an unnatural rate. Therefore dwarfs are particularly interested in keeping the Ironblights away. In the past, successful extermination campaigns have eradicated Ironblight presences from their mines for quite a while. The Ironblights are usually as patient and slow as the stone they resemble, only to surprise the incautious with bursts of speed and aggression from one second to the next. The Ironblights are immensely irritated by the magnetic fields that most sentient beings seem to emit. The highly sensitive creatures experience pain and agony in the vicinity of people. Yet this seems to kick in only at a certain low range, far too late to avoid the cause of discomfort. Therefore Ironblights often threaten bases of underground dwellers. Young gnomes had the habit of challenging each other as to who can catch the attention of an Ironblight from furthest away compared to the others, just to prove who is smarter. This rather unwise practice has been forbidden to gnomes by law and promotional campaigns with slogans like 'it is not at all smart to challenge death by teasing Ironblights'.