Noodnic

Noodnic
Biology
Alive/extinct	Alive
Appearances
Major appearances	Fire on the Water

The Noodnics are an intelligent but mischievous mountain dwelling species that is generally two feet high. They are native to Durenor.

Biology

Noodnics resemble oversized marsh rats with bright black eyes. They inhabit a maze of small shafts and fissures that honeycomb the Hammerdal Mountains. Their thick tails and taloned hands and feet are good for grasping rocky surfaces making them adept climbers. They are intelligent enough to use human artefacts, but not to make them.

Despite their inoffensive appearance, the Noodnics are actually evolved forms of Agarashi. During the time of Agarash, the Vazhag, a rat-like species of Agarashi, were created to serve him. The Cener Druids in Mogaruith later enslaved and bred the Vazhag; those that were not captured became extinct, or evolved to become the Noodnics.

Noodnics love to horde things and are known to steal.

Encounters

Lone Wolf can encounter Noodnics only in Fire on the Water, when entering Tarnalin. The required actions depend on the edition of the book used and whether Lone Wolf possesses a Magic Spear. In the Project Aon version, Lone Wolf encounters the Noodnics if he has the Magic Spear and gives it to Rhygar to defend the mouth of Tarnalin. He must have Animal Kinship to communicate with the Noodnics. With the discipline, the Noodnics give him food and also guide him past the Helghast ambush in Tarnalin, but steal all his gold in the process. Without it, they force Lone Wolf from their lair to a sure death.

Viveka also encounters Noodnics in the Legends of Lone Wolf series, after escaping from Castle Ryme. She encounters Kai Lord Diving Skua here, who was investigating rumors of Vassagonian bandits planting bombs in Tarnalin to extort money from the Durenese throne. The two spend several weeks together, with Viveka learning much of her deadly skills from Diving Skua. They leave the Noodnics two weeks before Fehmarn. The Noodnics organize no farewell ceremony and Gashgiss himself seems to lose interest after guiding the two halfway through the tunnels of Tarnalin. Although this would be considered cold by human standards, among Noodnics it is a great compliment, since it signifies the Noodnics consider the two humans an equal — a fellow Noodnic would have no trouble navigating Tarnalin, and so would not need guidance.

Individuals

• Gashgiss, the leader of the Noodnics of Tarnalin.

Design

Joe Dever originally intended for the Noodnics to make more appearances, as they are only encountered in Fire on the Water, and can be missed even here by the player. However, at the time, the publication of the books coincided with the release of the Return of the Jedi film in the Star Wars series, and Joe Dever (always alert to various other fandoms) noticed the backlash towards the Ewoks in that series: They were seen as too cute, and ruined the tone of the film. As a result, he ruled out any appearances of the Noodnics in future books.

It is possible that the name of this species was derived from the Yiddish slang word nudnik, meaning "boring or annoying person" (one variant of this is noodnick). This is especially borne out by the plot of Fire on the Water, where Noodnics in the mountains surrounding Hammerdal will show you a way to bypass a potentially deadly encounter, but will steal all your gold.