Custodian

Of all the extraordinary and horrifying things which emerge from the great alchemical vats of Empusai necromancers, few are deadlier and more terrible in aspect than Custodians.

It would take a sizeable lack of good sense to go wandering about an Empusai dwelling uninvited. But worse foolishness would be to assume that the rug on the floor, the servant child sitting by the fire and the large mantis-armed centipede with two scythes in place of mandibles were not all equally inclined to kill you and feast on your fluids and salts.

This is because the Custodian is really the art form of the Empusai. Given that they are the guardians of the great Empusai chitin-abodes they are of course made killers all, but the art of their creation lies in the myriad forms they are given.

They are less intelligent than Watchers and blindly follow the telepathic commands of their creators when given directives, but the entire reason for their existence is to wander the Empusai's spires, stacks and keeps in search of things which don't quite seem as though they belong, and eat them. And they do so, without being told.

Empusai take great pride in these creatures, and are known to play nasty 'practical jokes' on their guests, whose prerogative it is to keep a sharp eye and nose out for innocuous-seeming agents of death.

Being killed by an ornate carpet or laundry basket is a shameful way to die. To the Empusai, it is an excuse to make endless jokes at the victim's expense.