The Immortal Naturalist's Guide to Cryptic Creatures: The Rotten Creeper

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

    Lizard folk of the Mangey Seagull Tribe tell legends of a terrible creature known as the Rotten Creeper, a mass of putrid, decomposing goo that roams the island they call home looking for food. Able to alter its body into any shape, the only warning its victims get is the smell of rotting flesh that permeates the air around the creature. On the new moon, the Rotten Creeper leaves its lair to go find prey, looking to find the largest thing it can catch. The beast will alter its shape to sneak up on its victim, remaining silent until the moment it grabs its prey, at which point it uses its great strength to pull in the poor creature and drown it in its gooey body. By the next new moon, the creature will be digested, bones and all. After a successful hunt, the Rotten Creeper will often kill several more unlucky creatures, taking them back to its nest to become bedding rather than eat them.

    Being able to maintain a solid form with a body that is apparently made entirely of liquid is the result of a magical spell, something I was able to figure out by examining the creature's magical aura. Whoever cast this spell is long gone, but their work remains to terrorize the lizard folk of the Opal. The reason why this mass of decomposed goo is still around so long after its creator seems to be that it is able to suck the energy out of its victims, using this energy to sustain the spell that keeps it alive. To avoid this fate, it is important to always have a source of light around. Any light, but sunlight in particular, seems to dry out and injure the Rotten Creeper, causing it to move away from the source of the pain. In order to avoid being touched by any light, the beast maintains a large pile of decaying animals which it can hide under for the month of light between new moons.

    Taking advantage of this time spent hiding from the light, I was able to get into the Rotten Creeper's lair and collect some samples of the creature's goo. Although it would not stay usable if exposed to sunlight, it turns out that the goo is incredibly caustic, being able to dissolve flesh instantly. These samples have come in handy many times since then, allowing me to dispose of any organic material with ease. To keep the goo safe from drying out, I keep it all in a leather-wrapped vial in my bag which has been quite effective. I assume this goo would have similar utility to others, but no one has ever asked me where I got mine, so I take that as an overall lack of interest in the stuff.