The Immortal Naturalist's Guide to Cryptic Creatures: Dreggarridgeon

This post is part of the Immortal Naturalist's Guide series. The explanation for that series can be found in this post.

    Legends from the Ashmount Range describe a massive, bipedal cat with the horns of a ram that roams the slopes in search of hair. The beast's massive teeth act as shears, allowing Dreggarridgeon to shave a goat in just a few minutes. Dreggarridgeon, standing about twelve feet tall, is mostly ash grey with darker stripes which help him blend in and better ambush his prey. While it may seem odd, and it is, the goats the creature shaves often need special care until their fur grows back or they are at risk of freezing to death in the cold alpine nights and winters. Tracking Dreggarridgeon for observation was a difficult task because he seems to leave no footprints behind and he makes his home in the crater of a dormant volcano.

    How such a large creature can leave no trace as it moves is due to a magical ability. An oil produced by glands on Dreggarridgeon's wrists magically prevents him from leaving fur behind, making tracks, or even producing a scent trail. This helps the creature get away after an ambush and is part of the reason why most believe it to be a legend. While goat herders of the Ashmount Range must contend with Dreggarridgeon and his hunger for hair, most think that such a creature could never exist. While he is hard to spot coming and going, legends also say that Dreggarridgeon hates spicy foods, which is why Ashmount goat herders traditionally bathe their flocks with chili powder every morning.

    In order to find where Dreggaridgeon sleeps, I had to follow him closely after I caught him shaving a goat one day. He is truly difficult to follow, but with persistence I was able to follow him back to his volcano crater. The scene that would unfold before me is one that I truly did not expect. Inside the crater were some of the most beautiful woven rugs I have ever seen, all made from pure goat hair. As soon as he returned to his home, Dreggarridgeon regurgitated most of the hair he had taken and began to wash and dry it. He then moved on to hair that had already been drying and began to dye it several colors. Finally, he took colors that had finished dying and used them to make yarn, which he wove together into the aforementioned rugs. I do not know how or why this creature is able to do such a thing, but I believe his rugs must be worth more than just about any other textile I have ever seen.