Mythic Monsters-Quinotaur

This is part of the A-Z Blog Challenge. Herein I will be presenting a new monster that hopefully has not been seen before in any RPG game. These will be drawn from stories and mythologies found in a variety of real-world cultures.


Quinotaur

There was a crashing noise from the bottom of the ship. At first it felt as if the ship had hit a reef, but the ship continued to move. Then a cry a went up that water was entering the hold. Puncture marks appeared in the hull and the water was coming in rapidly. The carpenters rushed to the hull, but then the bottom of the ship heaved up again as the ship was again struck. More hoels appeared and more water came in. It was then theat the tail swept over the edge of the rails taking two sailors with it.

This is a bull headed fish. As expected it has 5 horns on its head. It can be aggressive when its territory is threatened, otherwise it is fairly docile. It has been known to attack passing ships. It is an herbivore so tends to only attack when threatened. It is able to function just fine in and out of the water, moving similar to a walrus while on land. It is in the water that it is the most elegant though.

The Quinotaur figured prominently in ancient legends. It is said to have sired the start of the Merovingian dynasty, which was the pre-cursor to the Carolingian dynasty and Holy Roman Empire. While the Quinotaur is first specifically mentioned by that name during the Merovingian mythos, there was a similar creature as far back as the Phoenicians, wherein the daughter of the king, Europa (for which the continent is named), was taken by a sea-bull. The Greeks also included a similar story as part of their mythos.

Abilities
-Horns: With 5 horns the beast can do considerable damage, especially to a ship.
-Tail: Its tail is fairly large and can strike, even those on the deck of a ship.

Adventures
-A magician wants a horn from a Quinotaur and is willing to pay highly for it. He will provide a ship and crew. The task takes on unexpected dimensions when the crew begins to rebel at the thought of fighting a Quinotaur. There are also other sea monsters in the area, as well as pirates. This simple job is rife with complications.

-A Quinotaur has begun attacking within a well travelled sea lane. Reports indicate the Quinotaur has always made its home here, so the question is, why is the Quinotaur attacking now? The Quinotaur recently gave birth and the while the child was out learning to swim and exploring one day, it was caught in the nets of a fishing vessel. The fishermen decided to keep the child instead of releasing it, in the hope they could sell it for large sums of gold. The Quinotaur will continue to attack until it is dead or the child is returned.